Boston Review

International Politics | Democratic Thought / Practice | Domestic Politics and Policy

Is Government Incompetent?

Authors Title
John Canham-Clyne,
Steffie Woolhandler,
David Himmelstein
A Rational Option 20.4
Canham-Clyne, Woolhandler, and Himmrelstein outline a Canada-style health insurance scheme. The authors' case for a single-payer system challenges assumptions about government incompetence and aims to promote more rational policy.
Ruy TeixeiraA Democratic Revival? 20.4
Teixeira argues that an affirmative role for government will be necessary to arrest long-term wage decline and growing inequality; that government will be able to play that role only if people stop blaming it for current troubles; and that the blame will end only if Democrats persuade people to assign principal responsibility for our troubles to irresponsible economic elitesłnot incompetent government.