…I would argue that the quality of governance in the US tends to be low precisely because of a continuing tradition of Jacksonian populism. Americans with their democratic roots generally do not trust elite bureaucrats to the extent that the French, Germans, British, or Japanese have in years past. This distrust leads to micromanagement by Congress through proliferating rules and complex, self-contradictory legislative mandates which make poor quality governance a self-fulfilling prophecy. The US is thus caught in a low-level equilibrium trap, in which a hobbled bureaucracy validates everyone’s view that the government can’t do anything competently.
Francis Fukuyama – What is Governance?
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I read this piece when it came out earlier this year, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
It’s very easy to find people who are cynical about bureaucracy/bureaucrats – in fact, I’d wager that it’s hard to find people who aren’t cynical about bureaucracy. Bureaucrat has no positive connotation, hence the euphemism “public servant” (which is slightly insulting to those of us who aren’t technically bureaucrats but are driven by public service).
Once you start looking for it, it’s very easy to spot examples of this cycle of distrust, micromanagement, poor performance, and continued mistrust. An under-acknowledged challenge for those of us participating in the civic startup movement will be to be charitable toward bureaucrats. After all, the poor performance we’re trying to improve may have its roots in our collective failure to do so.
