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Try Common Sense: Replacing the Failed Ideologies of Right and Left

by Philip K. Howard (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 62 ratings
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Award-winning author Philip K. Howard lays out the blueprint for a new American society.

In this brief and powerful book, Philip K. Howard attacks the failed ideologies of both parties and proposes a radical simplification of government to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. Nothing will make sense until people are free to roll up their sleeves and make things work. The first steps are to abandon the philosophy of correctness and our devotion to mindless compliance.

Americans are a practical people. They want government to be practical. Washington can’t do anything practically. Worse, its bureaucracy prevents Americans from doing what’s sensible. Conservative bluster won’t fix this problem. Liberal hand-wringing won’t work either. Frustrated voters reach for extremist leaders, but they too get bogged down in the bureaucracy that has accumulated over the past century. Howard shows how America can push the reset button and create simpler frameworks focused on public goals where officials―prepare for the shock―are actually accountable for getting the job done.

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  1. ISBN-10
    1324001763
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1324001768
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    January 29, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    5.8 x 1 x 8.6 inches
  7. Print length
    160 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] thunderous little book."
― Gillian Tett, Financial Times

"If you have the feeling that America and its government and institutions are malfunctioning, then you should read this important book. It is time for us to… try common sense."
― Jonathan Haidt, New York University Stern School of Business, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind

"[A] blockbuster."
― Steve Forbes, Forbes

"Philip K. Howard has written a transcendent guidebook for life after Trump. This profound and practical new book makes us hope for the particular situation of a Philip Howard presidential candidacy at the head of his exemplary party for the Common Good."
― George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty and Life After Google

"E]ngagingly written and never-dull aperçu that pinpoints with deadly accuracy … so much that is wrong with the current American administrative state."
― Charlotte Allen, Law & Liberty

"[M]asterful. … [D]emand that your elected officials read it – and act according to Howard’s advice."
― Quin Hillyer, Washington Examiner

"A breath of fresh air in an America where the political atmosphere has been poisoned by partisan invective."
― Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard Law professor and author of Rights Talk and The Forum and the Tower

"Try Common Sense will send Washington reeling. Howard provides practical vision certain to offend the political establishment."
― Alan K. Simpson, U.S. Senator, Wyoming (Ret.)

"Wonderful ideas beautifully expressed."
― John Sweller, Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, University of New South Wales

"With provocative arguments and convincing solutions, Howard offers a fresh, nonpartisan approach that will appeal to anyone frustrated with government's ongoing failures."
― Kirkus Reviews

From the Back Cover

Praise for Philip K. Howard's previous books:

The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Law and Broken Government
"Amid the liberal-conservative ideological clash that paralyzes our government, it’s refreshing to encounter the views of Philip K. Howard, whose ideology is common sense spiked with a sense of urgency…[This] book drives home some large truths."
– Stuart Taylor Jr., Wall Street Journal

The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America
"The delights of this policy prose poem lie in its perfect details, its civilized tone, its sure sense of where the ill-made legal shoe pinches."
– Wall Street Journal

"[Philip K.] Howard’s argument is fresh, reflecting an impressive combination of wisdom, wry humor, and quiet passion…When we think about 'reinventing government,' it’s a good place to start."
– New York Times Book Review

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 29, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324001763
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1324001768
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 1 x 8.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 62 ratings

About the author

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Philip K. Howard

Philip K. Howard

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Philip K. Howard is a leader of government and legal reform in America. He is Chair of Common Good and a bestselling author, and has advised both parties on needed reforms. In his new book, Everyday Freedom (Rodin Books, 2024), he pinpoints the source of powerlessness that is fraying American culture and causing public failure, and offers a bold vision of simpler governing frameworks to re-empower Americans in their daily choices.

Philip is the author of the bestseller The Death of Common Sense (Random House, 1995), The Collapse of the Common Good (Ballantine Books, 2002), Life Without Lawyers (W.W. Norton, 2009), The Rule of Nobody (W.W. Norton, 2014), Try Common Sense (W.W. Norton, 2019), and Not Accountable (Rodin Books, 2023). His commentaries are published frequently in major media outlets.

In 2002, Philip formed Common Good, a nonpartisan coalition dedicated to simplifying laws so that Americans can use common sense in daily choices. His 2010 TED Talk has been viewed by more than 750,000 people. His 2015 report, “Two Years, Not Ten Years,” exposed the economic and environmental costs of delayed infrastructure approvals, and its proposals have since been incorporated into federal law. Philip has appeared often on television and radio, including several times on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”

The son of a minister, Philip got his start working summers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner. He has been active in public affairs his entire adult life. He is Senior Counsel at the law firm Covington & Burling, LLP. A graduate of Yale College and the University of Virginia Law School, Philip lives in Manhattan with his wife Alexandra. They have four children.

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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Customers appreciate the book's pacing, with one noting it's well-researched and another describing it as highly readable.

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6 customers mention "Pacing"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the pacing of the book, with one noting it is well-researched and highly readable, while another describes it as a great source of good ideas.

"...Howard provides a well-researched and persuasive, if depressing, account of the impact our rules-obsessed institutions have on the nation’s..." Read more

"...For readers who want to dig deeper it is well annotated and indexed." Read more

"Succinct and highly readable, Try Common Sense describes the origins and evolution of “correctness” in American law and government...." Read more

"...Philip K. Howard is a master of "common sense" and worth securing your own copy. You won't be disappointed. Don't wait secure your copy and enjoy." Read more

3 customers mention "Readability"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as compelling.

"Totally enjoyed reading Try Common Sense especially with all the political bickering and name calling during these times with nothing getting done..." Read more

"Great Read. Excellent book on how this country should work. The best book I’ve read. Makes perfect sense for us." Read more

"Important and Compelling..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • DotM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Important and Compelling
    Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    In this book Philip Howard takes an unflinching look at America’s legal and bureaucratic complex and points us to an uncomfortable truth: it is an ever-expanding, intrusive and increasingly dysfunctional burden on the people it is supposed to serve, and it is broken beyond repair. The real-life examples of regulatory unreason and excess contained in the book are dishearteningly familiar to anyone who has sought a building permit, tried to start or run a business, or attempted to sort their garbage in accordance with their town’s voluminous garbage-sorting instructions. Howard provides a well-researched and persuasive, if depressing, account of the impact our rules-obsessed institutions have on the nation’s progress and efficiency, affecting as they do things as crucial as our infrastructure, our schools and our will to make them better. The book’s headline assertion – that this labyrinth is impervious to reform under our current two-party system of government – is supported by the reform initiatives that have been advanced over the years, only to perish in the face of the vested and special interests that exert such power over our political parties and the government officials they produce.

    The book would be less interesting if Howard’s proposed solution to this gridlock were deregulation. Instead, he suggests a kind of re-regulation, a system in which the dense volumes of (often outdated) rules that control regulator and regulated alike are replaced by regulatory objectives (clean drinking water; safe work places; orderly and effective schools). Reliance on regulatory principles leaves room for human judgment, flexibility and ingenuity in achieving them, assets we are badly in need of at the moment. Decision makers are judged under this proposed system by the results they achieve or fail to achieve, as well as by the officials who are tasked with overseeing them through a chain of command, leaving identifiable people, not rigid rules, to credit or blame.

    The book’s diagnosis is hard to quibble with. At first blush, its call for the formation of a third political party that can tackle these needed reforms (set forth in some detail at the end of the book) seems harder to fathom. But as Howard observes, so was Donald Trump’s election to the Presidency, which Howard notes was animated by the same rejection of the status quo that is needed to effect real and lasting change in the way we are governed. The desire is there; whether we can remake government in the image of the humans it is intended to serve is a matter of will.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • liv2write
    5.0 out of 5 stars WHY GOVERNMENT IS INEPT--AND SOME SOLID STEPPING STONES TO FIX IT
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Advisor to Presidents, Congress, and civic groups, as well as a lawyer by trade, Howard has had a front row seat to The Government That Does Not Work.
    This summary of what he sees is chilling--one small business buried by not dozens but thousands of regulations and the paper work to go with them, a union-soaked California school system of 277,000 teachers where only two (not 2%) are removed each year for doing something horrible, a justice system that is both a crushing burden and horribly unpredictable, and a Congress that has no clue of the mountain ranges of rules and regulations it sits on and has no desire or incentive to "serve" the American people but only to protect its members and their cronies.
    Howard details how "correctness" in and of everything insisted on by rule makers and judges stifles sensible decisions. He explains how lack of accountability and lack of personal responsibility for anyone in government allow obsolete or foolish laws to strangle modern-day enterprises and law-makers and their staffs to make one stupid decision after another. Perhaps most important, he outlines that a basic sense of integrity for the group coupled with
    The Golden Rule for each member is the glue that holds society together, that allows each of us to trust others. He explains we have sacrificed that on the altar of anything goes and "who are you to judge"?
    Other countries do much better. Germany regularly removes outdated laws and regulations and has local centers where all permitting agencies can process applications in one place.
    This work is only a summary and deserves a deeper analysis, but it should serve an important beginning to turning things around. For readers who want to dig deeper it is well annotated and indexed.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • wmt3
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
    Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Succinct and highly readable, Try Common Sense describes the origins and evolution of “correctness” in American law and government. Correctness was born of the best intentions. In the wake of the civil rights movement, legislators and jurists sought to ensure equality under the law by reducing the potential for capricious subjective judgments. The means of achieving this has been an ever expanding and ever more intricate framework of rules and regulations that attempt to provide an objective decision for any circumstance.

    This correctness movement has become a self-propelling juggernaut. Long past the point of usefulness, it has reached absurdity, which Howard illustrates with a series of tragicomic anecdotes. We have abdicated individual responsibility to a flawed algorithm, and the disastrous consequences are compounding.

    Despite this disheartening current appraisal, Howard ends the book on an optimistic note. The plague of correctness is not intractable. In his appendix, “Ten Principles for a Practical Society,” he offers practicable approaches to restore logic and individual agency to America’s governance. These mostly center on empowering individuals and small groups with greater authority and responsibility. Another intriguing idea is to move certain government functions out of Washington in order to reinvigorate our ossified federal bureaucracy.

    This is an important book whose ideas will interest any concerned citizen. Moreover, it should be required reading for the slate of 2020 presidential candidates.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Ron C. Peck
    5.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense, Who Would Have Thought
    Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Totally enjoyed reading Try Common Sense especially with all the political bickering and name calling during these times with nothing getting done while blaming the other person. It's imperative to accept responsibility if one is looking for change or advancing a cause. This book should be required reading for all members of Congress or organizations focused on furthering their cause. Philip K. Howard is a master of "common sense" and worth securing your own copy. You won't be disappointed. Don't wait secure your copy and enjoy.
    2 people found this helpful
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