I argue in this essay that today's conservatives have proven themselves radical—i.e., completely out of step with the history of western political thought—in their refusal to acknowledge the existence of collective action problems and the role government must often play to solve them. ominique Strauss-Kahn, the scandal-ridden former director of the International Monetary Fund, tells a revealing story in the Oscar- winning documentary Inside Job about a dinner party hosted in the fall of 2008 by then-Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson. In attendance were a number of officials and CEOs from the biggest financial institutions in the US, and the financial crisis was the obvious topic of conversation. In a staggering moment of honesty, perhaps inspired by sheer panic, all of these men admitted that they were in part responsible for the crisis. Then, according to Strauss-Kahn, they turned to Paulson and said, You should regulate more because we're all too greedy; we can't avoid it. The only way to avoid this is to have more regulation. 1 Over a year after the initial fears of widespread financial implosion had subsided, President Obama tried to make good on the suggestion made at Paulson's dinner party. As expected, Obama faced hostility from Wall Street and the Republicans when he championed and eventually passed the Consumer Financial Protection Act in 2010. But, in that unguarded moment at Paulson's party, the bank officials revealed not only their own culpability for the crisis but also their understanding of the system that allowed—even encouraged— their reckless behavior. A return to regulation, they conceded, was the only way to prevent banks and other institutions from acting in a way that was immensely profitable in the short term, but disastrous for the financial system as a whole.