Nicholas Kristof is one of the more perplexing pundits around. He is eminently sensible on trade and globalization. His defenses of “sweatshop” labor are particularly eloquent and compelling, perhaps because on these issues, he’s actually seen bad policy in action. Kristof was a globalization critic until he visited parts of developing Asia while researching a book. What he saw there converted him.

But he’s frustratingly impratical on domestic issues, and can’t seem to apply the same logic and economics he’s seen in action on globalization issues to issues here at home. Today’s column is typical. Kristof cites a few hysterical articles he’s read on the obesity issue, then rushes to endorse rash, reactionist measures without applying the kind of careful, critical thinking he has shown on international development issues. To wit, he wants massive government interference in Americans’ diet and excersise habits. I wrote a letter in response:

Editor,

Citing the danger posed to the public health by sugary foods, Nicholas Kristof wants the government to tax and regulate the way we eat and exercise.

But Americans have been getting fatter for decades, now. And over the same period, life expectancy has hit historical highs, and deaths from cancer, heart disease and stroke — the country’s three biggest killers — have all dropped dramatically. In fact, deaths from five of the six types of cancer most associated with obesity have all fallen over the last 15 years. Many of these gains are of course due to advances in medicine, nurtured by our relatively free market approach to pharmaceutical research. But if obesity does indeed portend a looming healthcare catastrophe, we should at least be seeing the front end of that catastrophe by now. Instead, we seem to be living longer.

Unfortunately, the slide toward socialized medicine (which Kristof also advocates) will only give government more excuses to begin more aggressive policing of Americans’ personal habits. When we’re all paying for one another’s healthcare, government snooping in the neighbor’s refrigerator doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.

Mandatory calisthenics in the public square can’t be far behind.

There’s no question that the public health crowd has made soda the new cigarettes. And, unfortunately, they now have the ear of prominent opinion makers like Kristof. Which means we can’t simply mock them anymore. Which means they’ve already cleared a major hurdle in the debate.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 at 12:05 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.