To the extent that any of it was designed at all, this world was designed by economists. Of all the social sciences, economics was the one that embedded itself in the governance and regulation of public life — the higher functions of the system, the ones that balance future and present needs. (..). Adopting the economic mode of thinking reduces the cognitive demands placed on our ruling classes by telling them that there are lots of things they don't have to bother thinking about. The adoption of economic growth and efficiency as a core philosophy and cost-benefit analysis as a method of governance means not only that thousands of possible policies can be rejected without serious consideration, but also that whole approaches to human life never need to be considered.

— The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies (Page 141)