Every disaster started out as a good idea to someone.
We like to think we know best and that we can fix things, but fixing something in practice is a lot harder than we imagine.
First we have a problem.
We have an idea and it seems to work.
People like it. They give us money.
They thank us.
After a while, we notice that it’s not fixing things as much as we thought it would, but it’s too late.
People already like it, they seem happy.
Most of them haven’t noticed the downsides.
Yet.
We wonder, maybe if we come up with another idea — another smart solution — people might not notice the damage done by the last one.
And so the cycle continues.
Totally innocent; with the best of intentions.
The road to dystopia is paved with such ideas.
But there