Gil Friend quoted himself from a recent speech
Change is made more difficult by deep and pervasive errors in thinking -- the assumption that we can't afford it, and the belief that our economic well-being is separate and autonomous from the living systems that sustain us -- and by a serious and unrecognized gap in management methodology.
The article focuses on the costs (or not) of environmentally conscious policies in Portland. However, this particular quote can apply to just about any change in human endeavors. I've been reading up on Theory of Constraints (TOC) in preparation for some additional TOC training through Goldratt Schools. This argument is similar to that from Goldratt. People are too comfortable in what they've been taught and what they've learned to stop and consider their assumptions and consider the true goals in a given situation.