Washington can’t fix the bureaucratic administrative state
A worthwhile piece from John Grove over at Fusion argues against the populist notion that the bureaucratic administrative state is just an elite creation imposed on the people. The problem is us, too. Reforming the federal bureaucracy requires stepping away from the belief that national political power can solve all our collective ailments.
Of course, the solution is no easy task but requires rejecting the illusion of political salvation and restoring the dignity of self-government, local authority, and moral restraint.
A couple of worthwhile lines below from Grove, but I encourage readers to read the entire essay:
“The full case against the administrative state must aim not just against its excesses, trappings, and inefficiencies, but against its pretenses and claims on American life—most importantly, the claim that we need a protective national state to arrange the world for us.”
“The right has finally brought political force to bear on this monstrosity, but only by acceding to the dirigiste psyche that reduces economic, social, and moral life into a question of political control.”
— The Federalism Beat