In Praise of Bureaucracy

A much-needed explanation of the function and purpose of the “administrative state” and how those government institutions could be better organized and operated to ensure they serve Americans.The current administration is transforming the federal government in its image, dismantling the agencies most essential for addressing economic and social inequalities, while weaponizing and personalizing others to impose pressure on opponents and open more avenues for corruption.After Trump’s administration, future policymakers will have to reimagine and rebuild a very different federal government that restores trust, prevents autocratic overreach, and is capable of addressing the urgent needs of the public. With Remaking the State, Cornell Law professor K. Sabeel Rahman provides an argument for what a future administrative state should look like. He argues that a next administrative state should be centrally focused on addressing problems of domination: protecting Americans from social exclusion and economic extraction, and making government itself more accountable and responsive to “we the people.”