I would disagree with the use of the word ironic by McArdle. The legacy of the new deal has first and foremost been an acceptance by most of increasing levels of coercion in our lives. This increased coercion is the inevitable result of increasing scale and scope of state intervention in the lives of individuals lives, reducing the sphere of private control. So the evolving confidence in the efficacy of state action to resolve issues, economic and social, would not be ironic but: select a more appropriate adjective - threatening, destructive, demoralizing . . .
There's something ironic in the fact that the legacy of the New Deal is the inability to reproduce it. On the other hand, it's not so necessary, either. People are richer now, and though it isn't perfect, our financial regulation is better. We're not at much risk of people starving to death. So there's no urgent need to create low-skilled jobs for them to fill.
New Deal 0.0 - Business - The Atlantic
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