God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to
change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the
other.
—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1942
***
State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things
badly, too.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, 1969
In a bureaucratic system, useless work drives out useful work.
—Milton Friedman, 1977
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
—C. Northcote Parkinson, 1955
33
In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. […] Work is
achieved by those employees who have not yet reached [that level].
34
—Laurence J. Peter, 1969
If the federal government had improved in efficiency as much as the computer has since the
1950s, we’d only need four federal employees and the federal budget would be $100,000.
—Newt Gingrich, 1994
35
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy
is the greatest threat to liberty.
—Eugene McCarthy, 1979
Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship.
—Harry S. Truman, 1959
Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.
—Will Rogers
36
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
—Bob Wells
37
33
This is the punchline of his brilliant book Parkinson’s Law, which summarizes the author’s
experience in the British Civil Service, and is perhaps be the best description of the basic features
of all bureaucracies—including the scientific ones. Indeed, one of his later (circa 1962) twists of
the law is: “Successful research attracts the bigger grant which makes further research impossible”.
34
This is the so-called Peter Principle, the main idea of another wonderful, very funny (but also
realistic to the point of being scary) book with the same title, which looks at bureaucracies from a
different angle than Parkinson’s Law.
35
Cf. the Robert X. Cringley’s quote in the On Science and Technology section.
36
Included, without a date, into the 1997 collection of his quotes.
37
As quoted, without a date, by many, starting not later than 1998.
176
On Government and Politics
change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the
other.
—Reinhold Niebuhr, 1942
***
State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things
badly, too.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, 1969
In a bureaucratic system, useless work drives out useful work.
—Milton Friedman, 1977
Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
—C. Northcote Parkinson, 1955
33
In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. […] Work is
achieved by those employees who have not yet reached [that level].
34
—Laurence J. Peter, 1969
If the federal government had improved in efficiency as much as the computer has since the
1950s, we’d only need four federal employees and the federal budget would be $100,000.
—Newt Gingrich, 1994
35
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy
is the greatest threat to liberty.
—Eugene McCarthy, 1979
Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship.
—Harry S. Truman, 1959
Be thankful we’re not getting all the government we’re paying for.
—Will Rogers
36
For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.
—Bob Wells
37
33
This is the punchline of his brilliant book Parkinson’s Law, which summarizes the author’s
experience in the British Civil Service, and is perhaps be the best description of the basic features
of all bureaucracies—including the scientific ones. Indeed, one of his later (circa 1962) twists of
the law is: “Successful research attracts the bigger grant which makes further research impossible”.
34
This is the so-called Peter Principle, the main idea of another wonderful, very funny (but also
realistic to the point of being scary) book with the same title, which looks at bureaucracies from a
different angle than Parkinson’s Law.
35
Cf. the Robert X. Cringley’s quote in the On Science and Technology section.
36
Included, without a date, into the 1997 collection of his quotes.
37
As quoted, without a date, by many, starting not later than 1998.
176
On Government and Politics