Micro Experience vs Macro Policy
The debate about BLT and its effectiveness gets me thinking. Probably, one of the most common mistake of policy making by populist-leaning decision makers is to generalize a micro experience and mold it into a macro policy. Of course it doesn’t have to be a first-hand experience. With the social and geographical gaps so wide, the number of personal experiences is small anyway.
The main culprits of influence are the news media through no fault of their own. The common “dog bites man” phenomena won’t make any news headlines. Instead, a compelling experience, especially if there are several similar ones, gets repeated through news cycle by different media. After a while the exception becomes the rule.
It goes without saying that exceptions are important in making decisions. Rawls would say that the policy should be designed to benefit the least-advantaged the most. I concur, if those benefits are weighed against the costs “properly” for everyone over period of time (not just here and now). Proper analysis can be done through accurate data gatherings and honest statistical readings.