People with Power Naturally Abuse It

In other words, only a saint makes a good politician.

With this on his mind, Joseph Bottum of First Things expresses his concern with the health care plan: (Courtesy of Professor Garnett at Mirror of Justice)

. . . The iniquitous distribution of American medicine is a scandal, but even the incomplete moves of the current plan create a system that no future bureaucracy will be able to resist using for social engineering. It puts an enormous section of the American economy and a huge slice of decisions about life and death in the hands of a government-employed elite. And, given the condition of elite opinion today, that will always mean increased government-sponsored abortion and euthanasia. We have seen it at the United Nations, and we have seen it in the European Union, and we will see it in the United States as well: You cannot create a system that allows bureaucrats to undertake major social changes and imagine that they will not use it. You cannot put their hands on the wheel and expect that they won’t start turning. . . .

To this progressive and liberal-minded people have no rejoinder, only denial and unflagging optimism. Unfortunately some actions carried out with good intentions have terrible unintended consequences. One wishes for politicians long-sighted enough to see.