Thanks for the reply. I think what I was trying to say by implication is that I think folks fall so far short of the ideal that it's actually a regression. Related to this is what I see as an implicit belief that "rationality" means completely dismissing the lived experience of actual humans, i.e. lots of people are suffering but hey, at least we applied principles in a soulless and mathematical way, because that's what's important.
A soulless and mathematically applied principles is a good was to actually reduce the number of people suffering. Assuming that's what your goal was from the start. If you only look at "lived experience" and then make a random change you feel might help, but don't actually check if it does, you can make things worse (see the outcomes of all the aid to Africa for example).
