I’m working my way through Dunkleman’s “Why nothing works,” and finding it compelling so far.

One interesting theme is how each era of government is in some ways a reaction, and inevitable overreaction, to the problems of the preceding era.

I’m wondering if the best way to describe what we need next is an era of “pruning.” Not a wrecking ball demolishing the institutions we’ve built, but a thoughtful approach anchored in the idea that the garden has become wild and thorny, and that what we need is not to burn it down, but to carefully trim it back and pull the weeds, so it can thrive again.

It’s a cute metaphor, but I do think there’s something deeper there; a recognition that after a long era where our default approach has been to add layers to the system, we would benefit from a season of the reverse, asking first “what hasn’t worked?” and trimming that back before we go back to adding new things.