''No, They Can't: Why Government Fails – But Individuals Succeed'' is a 2012 book by John Stossel, the American consumer

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, investigative journalist, author and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

columnist. It was published on April 10, 2012, and focuses on what Stossel sees as the failures of

government intervention Economic interventionism, sometimes also called state interventionism, is an economic policy position favouring government intervention in the market process with the intention of correcting market failures and promoting the general welfare of ...

Summary

Stossel argues that "he has dismantled society's fat cows with unerring common sense. Now he debunks the most sacred of them all: our intuition and belief that government can solve our problems." The term "no, they can't" is a rebuttal to the chant used in

Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama began on February 10, 2007, when Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for President of the United States in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a ma ...

("Yes we can"). The book gives several examples of government intervention: trade barriers, food and medical regulation, the education system, labor unions,

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

, minimum wage laws, the

war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

, and advocates of

universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

. Stossel heavily criticizes

economic egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...

, stating that an incentive for innovation is a higher income. Many of the statements in the book were later reiterated in episodes of '' Stossel''.

Reception

''No, They Can't'' entered ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list at number 17 in the April 29, 2012, issue. Robert VerBruggen of the '' National Review'' and ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' said that the book was "a perfect gift for a libertarian to give a friend or family member who has liberal instincts, so long as those instincts are accompanied by an open mind." A television special was created to accompany the book, first shown on April 15, 2012. Stossel went on a twenty-day tour to promote the book; the eighth day of the tour was filmed as an episode of ''Stossel''.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em 2012 non-fiction books American political books Books in political philosophy Books about economic policy Libertarian books Non-fiction books about elections Threshold Editions books