The mistake that engineers sometimes make is that they assume by destroying [inefficient] institutions, you would necessarily be able to replace them with something better, which is not always the case — and it also ignores a lot of the wisdom that accretes slowly within the idiosyncratic practices and byways of an institution. Institutions sometimes have a hard time expressing their wisdom, but oftentimes it’s there, and [although] the things that institutions preserve may indeed be antiquated by the standards of optimization, they have enduring values as well.
Franklin Foer (via Planetary Radio podcast, Sep 5, 2025)
Ideas I wanted to remember and share.