Karen W
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Karen W has not written any posts yet.
Don't forget that bureaucracy also exists as an effort to make gov't and other organizations more predictable, and often more egalitarian. Decisions such as whether you are allowed to build a huge house on your tiny lot are made through rules, rather than personal power and individual preference. So my neighbour, who has a lot of money and who is the grandchild of a former governor, has to apply to the same office, request the same permits, provide the same documentation, and pay the same fees, to (at least theoretically) get the same answer as I would, the upstart nouveau-not-that-riche. And the bureaucrat who 'decides' on my permit has to follow the same decision tree as the different bureaucrat who decides on my neighbour's.
This kind of predictability can only occur through a bureaucratic system. Anyone who has lived in a country where personal power, class, cronyism, caprice and corruption make the decisions instead, will appreciate bureaucracy, despite how annoying and frustrating it can be.
The idea that because we know how something works, it won’t work on us, is a common incorrect belief.
What protects us from responding ‘as usual’ is not understanding, but rather structures that we (as individuals and as societies) can set up, that force a pause and reflection, or reduce the ease of access of certain options, or limit that access strictly.
(And they have to be more effective structures than ‘are you sure you want to delete this file?’ prompts.)
Of course, we don’t set up... (read more)