Liberalism blames individuals for systemic failures and proposes expert fixes that reinforce top-down control

Evidence

Here Dewey exhibits in raw form the liberal proclivity to locate the source of systemic failures in the shortcomings of individuals and to propose “expert” solutions which respect— even reinforce— the top-down control of social life under corporate capitalism. Surely he could not have been unaware of the forces in a markct-orientcd economy forcing managerial decision continually toward profit maximization to which end secure hier­ archical authority and flexible control of the enterprise from the top are prime requisites. — Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, 554

Categorization

• SEED: A reusable critical lens: whenever a systemic failure is blamed on individuals while ‘experts’ propose fixes that preserve power, that is the liberal reflex this passage names.
• XREF: connects to: The bad-apples framing deflects blame from systemic causes

Broader Connections

• The bad-apples framing deflects blame from systemic causes #corroborates (0.85)