{"product_id":"why-we-cant-have-nice-nicholas-bagley-9781324106296","title":"Why We Can't Have Nice Things: How Legal Reformers Accidentally Broke America","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmerican government is broken. The country that built the national highway system and created Social Security and Medicare can now barely manage the basics. What went wrong?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUniversity of Michigan Law professor Nicholas Bagley argues that America's obsessively legalistic approach to governance--our \"procedure fetish\"--has strangled progress. Beginning in the late 1960s, reformers concerned about reckless postwar development crafted rules and procedures to minimize social and environmental harm from government action. These reformers had the best of intentions. Their obsession, however, has now grown into a legal regime that prioritizes process over outcomes, stasis over progress, and lawsuits over results. It's time to stop assuming that well-intentioned procedures are good because they're well-intentioned, and instead think hard about how to make our institutions genuinely effective. With deep insider knowledge, incisive analysis, and fluid storytelling, \u003cem\u003eWhy We Can't Have Nice Things\u003c\/em\u003e identifies a fatal flaw in American governance--and our potential path forward.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Nicholas Bagley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1324106298\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781324106296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Nicholas Bagley","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48520216936703,"sku":"9781324106296","price":29.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_30936f06-74c4-4aef-9675-d7e1864150f4.jpg?v=1778741435","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/why-we-cant-have-nice-nicholas-bagley-9781324106296","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}