Somewhere in my past I said that I thought the technology of bureaucracy wouldn’t be understood for 500 years. Well, it could be 300 years or 1000 years, I don’t know exactly, but it is clear that we are a long way from understanding how it works.
As time goes on, however, basic tenants start to emerge.
Bureaucracies do whatever it needs to do to satisfy the bureaucracy . . and, particularly, the men and women running the bureaucracy. I have only a limited amount of space here so I won’t list the tens of thousands of times executives have taken, at a minimum, money, grossly out of proportion to their contribution and their very-real fiduciary commitment to the organization.
Most bureaucracies don’t do what is right, fair or reasonable for their employees, societies, or governments . . they do what is right for them, and, by extention, the executives who run them. There are very few exceptions . . HP in the 70’s and 80’s was one. The boards that oversee these bureaucracies are chosen from the very list of people who have graduated from and benefitted from this cornucopia of good times.
Sad, but true.
Another obvious tenant is that people within a bureaucratic organization should not quit to make way for criminal behavior when the bureaucracy is the government. There are no natural corrections to abusive, criminal behavior in the government, especially the federal government. Jeff Flake retired because he disagreed with the President’s policies. This was the honorable response . . . retire and make way for someone who is more supportive.
But, by retiring, he made it easier for abusers and crooks to take control of the government. His intention was to object to the policies of the President, but, instead, he enabled the government’s unethical behavior.
With the absence of statesmen, we, the people, have to stand in there and fight!
Where’s John McCain when you really need him?