Unthinkable because government control at that level of granularity is such a stupid and downright offensive idea to begin with, or because it just plain doesn't work?

Yes, unthinkable because people generally find that the idea of fixing social problems is offensive, and just blame the victims for not fixing the problems they are suffering from.

False dichotomy alert

'Attempt to rationalize totalitarianism' alert.

"Totalitarianism is when we fix social problems". Thanks for providing an example of people finding it offensive to fix social problems.

If you think it's the government's place to prohibit color TV on the grounds that it promotes social inequality, you've largely disqualified any opinions you might have about totalitarianism, social science, or color TV.