Mongoose and maineman get right to the real source of the problem.

To quote Brooks again: The political history of the 20th century is the history of social-engineering projects executed by well-intentioned people that began well and ended badly.

Where Brooks goes fatally wrong is when he says “well-intentioned people.” The social-engineer in the 20th and 21st centuries has never been “well-intentioned.” He has always been out for power, power and more power, and quite willing to crush whatever gnats get in his way. In that sense, most such projects have been successes. The New Deal never went away, did it?

You can’t solve the problem when the people in charge want the problem to get worse because it accrues power to themselves.