Outrage and disinformation makes it tough to solve America’s complex problems

Trying to adjust a rapidly changing system is difficult, especially one as complex and diverse as U.S. society. Some don’t want change, others think it isn’t happening quickly enough, and still others want to skew it down dangerous and unsustainable pathways.

A standard approach to a difficult problem is to start with few basic questions. In this case, a good place to begin is by using the same questions used to adjust any dynamic system. There are three. First, what is the current “gap” we are trying to address? In other words, how far is the system from where it should be right now? Second, the history — how has that gap changed with time? And third, what is the current direction — is the system is heading to, or away from, the desired state and how quickly?

First, let’s start with “the gap”.

Presumably, in a “perfect” U.S. everyone would be healthy, fed, and housed. Also, everyone would be safe, with little to no crime, or violence. After these basics, we would probably want everyone to feel connected to others, and society, and to be free to be the best that they can be. (Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.) Note that the order of these is important, with the most basic needs (food, shelter, health) providing the foundation for all the others.

Clearly, the U.S. is far from perfect. Indeed, using a standard metric, the Social Progress Index, the U.S. ranks only 28th. (Pre-pandemic data. The index collects 50 metrics of well-being including nutrition, safety, freedom, the environment, health, and education. Norway is #1.) Now cynics may dismiss the possibility of perfect, but by recognizing how far away we are, we can establish a trajectory for improvement, prevent trading one element for another, and avoid settling for less.

It is true that we might not all agree on “perfect”, but there seems little doubt that if we could achieve all the elements given above, the U.S. would be a much better country.

The second consideration is the history of the gap. Too often long-term, systemic problems result in near term crises. Unfortunately, it is easier to score political points by concentrating on the near-term rather than fixing the long-term.

More problematic, solutions are posed as competing, when both near term and long-term issues must be addressed. For instance, decreasing childhood poverty can decrease homelessness, drug abuse, and crime, but the benefit may not show up for years. In the meantime, homelessness, drug abuse, and crime must be addressed. However, long-term investments must be tied to the proper solutions. Building more prisons is not desirable. Building more affordable housing is. Investing in children is better yet.

Finally, are we heading toward, or away from where we want to be, and how fast? As a young control engineer, I was warned that to act based on this question is incredibly risky since it is easy to be fooled by “false signals”. Reacting to such signals can cause oscillations, escalation, and a system breakdown. It is appropriate to react when lives are at stake, such as providing food, water, and shelter after a hurricane, or preventing the health care system from being overwhelmed during a pandemic.

However, in today’s world too often false crises are created by vested interests to gain power, money, and influence. These are escalated, deliberately so, by social media platforms in a cynical desire for profit, and by politicians in a cynical desire to maintain power and campaign contributions. It is much easier to respond quickly and generate outrage than to understand and search for solutions, and unfortunately our current system rewards and reinforces this approach.

It is often said that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good, however the good must be in service of the perfect. Our two-party system combined with the rapid spread of outrage and disinformation, has made solving long-term, systemic problems nearly impossible. Unless we once again point ourselves toward a “more perfect union”, we risk no union at all.