Policies That Don’t Work at The Micro Level or The Macro Level and Yet Persist
September 19th, 2009 by SocProf and tagged Global Governance, Globalization, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Sociology
At the micro level, zero tolerance policies on drinking and driving:
And at the macro level, The War on Drugs:
Read the whole thing.
So, why do policies that don’t work (either are “inert” or clearly have negative effects) and do not produce the anticipated benefits persist? Glenny argues that the moral and intellectual debates are over and that the anti-war on drugs have won, but they have yet to win the political debate. I would argue that the political issue is tricky PRECISELY because it is still formulated in moral terms rather than on rational terms of causes, consequences, social policy analysis and tested alternatives. So far, the moral entrepreneurs (to use Howard Becker’s concept) still prevail over sensible overview of decades of repressive policies and their effects.
Do yourself a favor and spend 20 minutes watching Misha Glenny on McMafia (a book well worth reading as well)
Posted in Global Governance, Globalization, Microsociology, Networks, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Sociology | No Comments »
