Centralized economic planning fails due to a knowledge problem.

No individual, nor group of individuals, can command all of the information necessary to anticipate every possible outcome of a policy. The solution they conceive for one problem inevitably results in unintended consequences and unforeseen negative impacts that ripple through the economy.

The American right generally understands this and opposes economic central planning. But these same people almost always embrace foreign policy central planning.

Foreign policy intervention fails due to the same knowledge problem as economic intervention. Every calculated move inevitably leads to blowback and other unintended consequences that ripple across the region. For example, regime change in Iraq opened the door for ISIS.

It makes no sense to entrust the same politicians who can’t run the health care system with running the Middle East.