No, They Can't, by John Stossel

The title of John Stossel's new book, No, They Can't: Why Government Fails--but Individuals Succeed, sums up Stossel's philosophy and the message of the book succinctly.  If you have seen his work on television (the "Give Me a Break" segments on 20/20, his one-hour specials on ABC, and, most recently, his show on Fox Business), you won't be surprised to hear that he is in favor of smaller government, free markets, and individual liberty.  In short, he is a libertarian.

Stossel's 20/20 segments were a breath of fresh air,
but he became too libertarian for them; they showed him the door.

No, They Can't reads like a series of his pieces on T.V.  As he addresses a particular issue, Stossel presents both anecdotal evidence and the research and opinions of experts to describe and defend the libertarian position.  The chapters cover policy areas you might expect from any book on public policy, such as health care, education, environmentalism, and the war on drugs.  I particularly like a device he uses throughout the book to shift to a new idea within the chapter, a statement of "What intuition tempts us to believe," versus "What reality taught me."  For example, intuition: "Disabled people need governmental protection."  Reality: "Such protection hurts the disabled."  Like a segment of his T.V. show, each section boils down an idea to its essence, giving a brief but solid defense.

If there is a weakness here, it is that: he doesn't leave a lot of space for the full development of an argument, much less a complete rebuttal.  But that's not his intention.  He does include plenty of references to get you started with your own rebuttal, or to do your own reading to confirm his point.  I think he accomplishes what he set out to do, that is to provide an alternative to Obama's "Yes, we can" attitude.  When Obama and his followers say "Yes, we can!" what they're really is saying is "Yes, the government can."  Stossel demonstrates the futility and destructiveness of relying on government for solutions to the needs of society.

It may be bad form to give away the ending of a book, but I do love the way Stossel closes No, They Can't.  "There is nothing that government can do that we cannot do better as free individuals--and as groups of individuals, working together voluntarily, not at the point of a gun or under threat of a fine.  Without big government, our possibilities are limitless."  A good word that I wish would be heeded by politicians in both major parties (but I'm not holding my breath!).