"At any moment in time, by imposing uniform standards in
housing, or nutrition, or clothing, government could undoubtedly improve the
level of living of many individuals; by imposing uniform standards in
schooling, road construction, or sanitation, central government could
undoubtedly improve the level of performance in many local areas and perhaps
even on the average of all communities.
"But in the process government would replace
progress by stagnation ... [and] would substitute uniform mediocrity."