America's Enduring Ideal

"He argues that financial incentives ought not to matter in a mindful society and is confident that well-intentioned social engineers can suspend the laws of economics."

Yup... people should work to better themselves without regard for reward, but for the greater good of society. Marx would be proud, but unfortunately, human greed and other vices always seem to win. Case in point - USSR and the ensuing disaster of the 90s, replaced by autocratic oligarchical rule of the present day. (First hand knowledge - I grew up there...)

"Mr. Sachs is honest enough to acknowledge that the "rich" are not nearly rich enough to pay for his ever-expansive vision of government. We're told that "each of us with an above-average income" (i.e., $50,000 per household) must "understand that if we are prudent, we can make do with a little less take-home pay." "

Anyone tried supporting a family in California on $50k income? I'm hoping my family won't have to try this.

"Government must instead quantify "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" and set policies and goals accordingly. There was a science to satisfaction, Bentham claimed, and it was a puzzle that trained experts could solve."

I seriously hope this was yanked out of context in the book, because otherwise it's a call for complete lunacy. Soviets tried this in Russia and Mao tried this in China... results were cataclysmic for the respective societies. If I could transport the author of the book to Russia of the 90s, or better yet Stalin's era, he might be signing a different tune.