12.17.2011

The Inevitability of Institutionalization


"In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely."

"...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions."

Jerry Pournelle

3 comments:

Sean said...

Vote: Ron Paul. I don't know that much about politics, but he's kinda' like a badger in the mix.

Josh Hopping said...

It goes to show that it is the bureaucrats who actually hold control, not the elected officials, who are at best, just a figure head.

steven hamilton said...

as a current bureaucrat, I'll say this: No Comment!

;-)