I have to say, I do agree with David Young's assessment: this analysis does have a strong whiff of ideological determinism. Many of the shortcomings of those policies and programs can be laid at the feet of conservatives who demanded certain concessions before they could be passed into law. For example, directing welfare payments to single mothers was implemented to keep money from going to "lazy Black bucks." Medicare was limited--by conservatives, at the behest of the private insurance industry--to old people, who would need the most care, and 'Obamacare' was the result of repeated concessions to conservatives in exchange for their votes--who then voted against it, anyway. (Conservatives have shown themselves over and over again to be faithless negotiators: lying cheats. The Democrats should have drawn up their own plan for a universal healthcare system and made that the centerpiece of the 2012 campaign.)

Also, if I may, to my mind John Maynard Keynes and Karl Popper would probably be better starting points than anyone who lived in ancient (what would become) Greece could be. The former held that a strong middle class is necessary for the optimal functioning of a capitalistic economy--and that poverty is a separate moral issue. The latter decried the ossification of policies and programs that had clearly failed or outlived their usefulness, such that being able to rescind policies and programs is a more important consideration than their implementation is.

Having said all that, I certainly agree that a better approach to both the economy, especially its outcomes for society, and the functioning of the democratic political process is needed. I have in fact developed an alternative approach to justly governing the governance of society that does address both of those concerns (and much more). If curious: "A New Liberalism" (here in Medium, but--for the benefit of any 'guest readers'--not behind the paywall). [“Liberalism” refers to the meta-ideology that locates justice in equality and liberty, not the narrower political ideology of liberalism.]