The blame minimizer reminded me of the situation of the medical profession in the US and the UK, where the individual action is strongly shaped by the risks of entering costly litigations. The Hipocrates oath (do no harm) does not seem to be enough to steer action towards a maximum utility for the patients.
To remediate the status quo and reduce the risk-averse mentality, maybe we need some kind of protection from undue pressures (lobby, idealogy, short-sighted politics)? In a few Countries like Germany and Brazil, the public officers cannot be easily fired and are defended in court by competent public office lawyers. This is not the case in the US, where even judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs are elected and, hence, have to please their voters/sponsors between election cycles.
There is no structure of incentives that would solve the problem of blame-minimization if the individuals making even the small decisions are afraid of doing the right thing. Furthermore, it is really difficult to retain the most honest and the brightest in public office when the environment is driven by power-grabbing (current Republican politics), where doing something for the greater good is contingent upon a personal risk/benefit calculation.
The blame minimizer reminded me of the situation of the medical profession in the US and the UK, where the individual action is strongly shaped by the risks of entering costly litigations. The Hipocrates oath (do no harm) does not seem to be enough to steer action towards a maximum utility for the patients.
To remediate the status quo and reduce the risk-averse mentality, maybe we need some kind of protection from undue pressures (lobby, idealogy, short-sighted politics)? In a few Countries like Germany and Brazil, the public officers cannot be easily fired and are defended in court by competent public office lawyers. This is not the case in the US, where even judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs are elected and, hence, have to please their voters/sponsors between election cycles.
There is no structure of incentives that would solve the problem of blame-minimization if the individuals making even the small decisions are afraid of doing the right thing. Furthermore, it is really difficult to retain the most honest and the brightest in public office when the environment is driven by power-grabbing (current Republican politics), where doing something for the greater good is contingent upon a personal risk/benefit calculation.