Yep, I get the top down argument, but what i want to know is what does work, and why can't our government enable that?
Government is a massive bureaucracy, no doubt, but then so are large companies. And large companies can partner with smaller organizations, or buy them and use their knowledge and expertise to make money.
Government has the power of force, which includes the power to circumvent the price system by taxing or borrowing against future taxes, irrespective of the information the price system conveys about the efficiency of the actions undertaken with that money.
Since the government's actions may not be subject to the pressures of the price system, a government solution is less likely to reflect economic reality as described by the price system. In more than a few ways, this means the government's actions are not likely to succeed, because the primary motivations for experimentation won't be economic, but political.
Individuals and groups without the power of force must create solutions that can stand up to the pressures of the price system. In this model, shifting experimentation to the scope of individuals and groups by liberalizing (if necessary) or fine-tuning economic policy is what works.
Of course, this explanation requires an well-functioning price system, and making the system function well is a subject in itself. There's also the question of how often actors in the price system actually act rationally, given the information they receive from the price system.
Government is a massive bureaucracy, no doubt, but then so are large companies. And large companies can partner with smaller organizations, or buy them and use their knowledge and expertise to make money.
Look at what Disney did with Pixar.