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This week, we’re joined by Hurlock for a discussion on bureaucracy.
Brought to you by Surviving Babel and Nick B. Steves, Ascending the Tower is a podcast distributed by Social Matter and represents the latest project of the Hestia Society. Please leave feedback in the comments, and if you’d like to get in touch with Surviving Babel, you can find him at: survivingbabel@gmail.com
Related Show Links:
Music:
Opening Music – https://www.jamendo.com/en/track/1130269/sand-bones-skulls
Closing Music – https://www.jamendo.com/en/track/1058487/rekreation
Hurlock’s old blog – http://hurlock-151.tumblr.com/
New blog – https://hurlock1.wordpress.com/
James Goulding’s GBCReaction post – https://web.archive.org/web/20130609174305/
http://suspiriadeprofundis.net/2013/05/29/no-more-mr-reaction-guy
Also relevant – https://foseti.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/randoms-112/
Louis XIV and bureaucracy – http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/05/louis-xiv.html
Pippin and Charles the Great – http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Munro05.html
Peace and Truce of God – http://crusadinghistory.wikispaces.com/The+Peace+of+God+and+Truce+of+God
Mass Conscription in Europe – http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/alliances-and-wars/war-as-an-agent-of-transfer/conscription
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Great podcast, by the way.
While it’s easy to criticize the bureaucracy, it’s benefits shouldn’t be forgotten. In brief, democracy failed, and the bureaucracy “rescued” us from this failure. Or, if you prefer, if your choices are: 1) rule by Congress; or 2) rule by the bureaucracy, you’d be an idiot not to choose 2).
(Of course, you’d be an idiot to put yourself in position to have to make this choice in the first place, but . . . here we are – that ship sailed way before I was born).
Think of the bureaucracy as fail mode for democracy. It allows things to continue to function, while preserving the appearance of democracy. All in all, it’s a pretty good fail mode, considering the historical alternatives available.
Foseti,
First, thank you for the kind words. Hopefully we will see more of you, your contributions are invaluable.
I think the “spackle over holes in a load-bearing wall” comes close to what you’re saying, except I have less confidence in the longevity of bureaucracy. I think we can agree that spackle > no spackle, but the structure is severely weakened. Further damage is likely to bring the entire structure down.
Of course, as you said, if you inherit the wall, spackle is your only failure mode option, unless you want to rebuild the structure itself. In other words, I agree that option 2 beats the hell out of option 1, but that advantage is temporary at best. Sclerosis is inevitable.
The Ghibelline concept of monarchy is the one I personally think is best, the holy emperor consults the Pope but the pope does not have power over the emperor. There is no one above the holy emperor besides God.
Could you elaborate? What structures or norms exist to ensure that the emperor doesn’t just totally ignore the Pope?