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.

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.