There are various instances in which certain government actions are considered uncalled for depending on the implications such actions have on the citizenry. Certain government actions facilitate or promote the conduction of control over certain agencies by officials that have not been elected by the American people. Some of the practices at the federal level of governance can be considered unorthodox as they have more negative implication than positive ones on the citizens of America. At the federal level of governance, unelected officials have been able to exert control over certain agencies and are protected by a form of civil service, which has resulted in an instance often termed as “tyranny of the bureaucracy.” The aim of this paper, therefore, is to define tyranny of the bureaucracy, as well as argue on the grounds of whether or not it is right in addition to providing an approach to governance that would be appropriate.
The principle of separation of powers has been well established for centuries now, despite instances of accumulation of separated powers, such as those of the judiciary, executive and legislative (Rosenbloom, 2016). An instance such as that can be attributed to an individual or a group of people, who through their self-appointed, hereditary or elective positions in governance accumulate all powers of government. As a result, such a person or individuals implement certain control systems, such as in certain agencies under the pretext of civil services, which results in negative implications on various sectors of a country such as the economy. According to certain scholars, there is an accumulation of powers that has resulted in what is deemed “tyranny of the bureaucracy.” One of the many definitions of tyranny is the accumulation of powers with regards to the three arms of government executive, judiciary and legislative in the hands of one or many, whether holding an elective, self-appointed or hereditary position (Wolverton, 2014). This means that upon the accumulation of all the powers the individual or individuals who have done so, have the ability to control certain agencies in a manner that favors their operations, irrespective of the implications it has on the American citizenry.
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In the united states, instances of tyranny by bureaucrats have become evident, owing to some of the conditions presently affecting Americans. Administrative agencies, within the executive branch of the government, are among those agencies in the United States where the tyranny of the bureaucracy is evident. This is as a result of the amount of power that certain despotic departments in those very administrative agencies hold, that can be described as plenipotentiary power. The three arms of the government are a depiction of the definition of “tyranny of the bureaucracy.” This is because they appear together in an effort to promote some of their operations, as well as providing a platform for unelected officials to exert control over government agencies (Candeub, 2017). For instance, the legislature or executive come together to enact and pass certain bills into laws and policies that are enforced again by the judiciary, demonstrating the accumulation of power by a group of individuals or a single person.
In the despotic Roman Empire, efforts to attain such unit with regards to the control of power had always proven futile. However, in the United States, the same has been achieved in the form of “tyranny of the bureaucracy” as demonstrates in various cases in the united states, where different agencies have worked together in making life difficult for Americans. For instance, there was a case in which certain agencies showed accumulation and the use of absolute power in an attempt to cause a certain amount of devastating to individuals as well as families. Evidence shows that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) seized the cattle and land of Clive Bundy and also engaged in Wayne Hage’s family decade-long prosecution in Nevada. Similarly, in Idaho, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempted to devastate the Sackett family, thus a depiction of the use of accumulation of powers to demonstrate and define “tyranny of the bureaucracy (Wolverton, 2014).” There is also evidence of “tyranny of the bureaucracy” from some of the actions and projects that have been undertaken in the form of civil service, which is a depiction of the negative implications of same. For instance, the U.S Forest Service engaged in a project where it fenced off a section of land, 23 acres of it, which caused the prevention of access by the cattle of ranchers of a waterhole in New Mexico.
The Founding Fathers would have detected tyranny in the actions and collaboration of agencies owing to what William Blackstone, who wrote in 1765. He wrote,
It is highly necessary for preserving the balance of the constitution, that the executive power should be a branch, though not the whole, of the legislature. The total union of them, we have seen, would be productive of tyranny. (Wolverton, 2014)
The statement is a clear indication that tyranny of the bureaucracy has a negative implication on the American people, thus arguing against “tyranny of the bureaucracy.” More Americans are experiencing difficulty in getting by some of their life activities from operating successful businesses to receiving judicial services. As a result, some of the rights of Americans are being violated or overlooked owing to the control of agencies an individual or group of people that are making life harder for Americans. For instance, if the acquisition of land onto which one wants to start a business becomes a cumbersome process, which has been made that way to control competition, certain people may not conduct businesses that inject money into the economy.
The American economy is influenced either positively or negatively by the effective performance of business activities. Effective performance of business activities can be promoted by favorable laws and policies, as well as support from government agencies, which causes profitability, thus a positive implication on the economy. However in instances where government agencies, through certain individuals, exercise absolute power, “tyranny of the bureaucracy,” causes poor performance of businesses which in turn negatively impact the economy (Knoke, 2018). Based on that argument, it would be accurate to deem “tyranny of the bureaucracy” as wrong as it has detrimental implications on the American citizenry. The argument on the reason why the government exists is based on the idea of its responsibility to exercise control. However, when the control becomes unfair and unrewarding owing to, “tyranny of the bureaucracy,” then Americans begins to experience the negative implications of the tyranny. This can even cause civil unrest through protests, political instability, as well as negatively impacting the American economy, which all make the issue of “tyranny of the bureaucracy,” wrong.
The idea of separation of powers has worked for centuries before and it could also work in the present day America if it constitutionally followed and upheld (Rosenbloom, 2016). Each arm or body of the government should be independent of the other to ensure that proper separation of powers is exercised with the interest of every American citizen upheld. Separation of powers will prevent the formation of a platform in which a certain individual or group of people can accumulate all powers in an effort to exert tyranny, as well as remain under the protection of a form of civil service. Therefore, separation of powers will prevent any agency from being able to have the power to conduct activities where the “tyranny of the bureaucracy” is evident, thus making the lives of Americans better.
References
Candeub, D. A. (2017). Tyranny and Administrative Law. Ariz. L. Rev. , 59 , 49.
Knoke, D. (2018). Changing organizations: Business networks in the new political economy . Routledge.
Rosenbloom, D. H. (2016). 3a. Public Administrative Theory and the Separation of Powers. In The Constitutional School of American Public Administration (pp. 78-94). Routledge.
Wolverton, J. (2014, August 03). The Tyranny of the Federal Bureaucracy . New American . Retrieved August 13, 2018, from https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/18837-the-tyranny-of-the-federal-bureaucracy
