"Common Sense"

Some politicians have drawn quite a crowd by suggesting the government is essentially simple.

Our task, as liberals (note the small 'l'), is to try to turn that crowd while introducing all types of unattractive complexity. Instead of telling the crowd to dare to use its 'common sense' we have to ask it to listen to some large and difficult ideas.

Governing, say, a modern city is not easy. The limits on tax revenue bump up against on services downloaded to the city. Wealthy residents can move beyond the municipal border to where taxes are lower because needs are less. And those wealthy residents can still benefit from the Metropolis.

Governing a province or a country is even more complex.

Sound bites give a sense of how the speaker would act but they are not, they cannot be, standing alone, formulas for action.