Analytics in Government

[Belsnickel]

(06-29-2018, 01:49 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Analytics would 100% be seen as a way for "racists" to run the government.

"Sorry African Americans, but your High School graduation rate is the lowest on the team, and your murder rate is absurdly high. We're going to have to cut you to make room for more Asian Americans. Work on making more two-parent families in the offseason and maybe we'll call you in for a workout to see about getting you a non-roster invite to Spring Training."


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It really only works in sports because we expect teams to be relatively brutal about their management in an effort to win above all else.

"Analytics say your hard-hit % and your O-Swing % are in the bottom tenth of hitters, so we don't think your BABIP is low due to bad luck, but more a product of your hitting profile. We're sending you down to AAA until you hit the weights harder and work on better strikezone recognition."

...and then they never get called up again, 2 years later get traded to another team for a PTBNL, and fade into obscurity a year or two after that, before pursuing a job selling cars back in their hometown. We see that and think "yes, that is how it should be, because we need to win". It wouldn't really work for Government.

This works on the assumption that we would not take these sorts of things into account. Public policy is a social science, and we incorporate psychology, sociology, economics, etc., into our research. It's one reason I enjoy it because you get to dabble in a bit of everything. This school system that is predominantly black is underperforming? Why? Does it have to do with family situations, single family households, lack of a living wage for parents?

Technocratic solutions aim to get at the root of the problem much more than democratic solutions do and our ethical standards require working towards equity. I'm not saying it's perfect, but there is less of a chance of racist policy in that situation than with elected officials. The reason the SCOTUS is there and the reason for the Senate are both to protect the minority from the majority.