Book III, Chapter 20
…another factor in the effectiveness of both decision-making and law enforcement is entrenched interests and their associated corruptive influence.
These originate from a simple principle: In any large formal organization of people, there will generally be two types of people of consequence—those who are motivated to help fulfill the purposes of that organization and those who work for the structure and institutional power of that organization. Over time, the latter group comes to dominate the management structure of the organization, due to their interests and personal direction, combined with the fact that the people who actively wish to fulfill the purpose of the organization will be reluctant to give up those direct duties. This is not always a bad thing—a truly gifted organizer can have a multiplicative effect on the efforts of the organization—but in general, the end result will be that the people invested in the institutional power of the organization will gain control of it and dictate the functions of it. And it is rare that such individuals will give up control over the resulting fiefdoms, even if their refusal to relinquish control ends up damaging the actual effectiveness and goal-fulfillment of the organization that they command.
So doctors who wish to heal will go on with the treatment of patients—and above them will be doctors who are less concerned about the patients, but more concerned with the health of their hospital's finances (and possibly their own). And government officials who wish to aid with the welfare of their communities will be examining roads and homes and food and other infrastructure, but their superiors will be more concerned with the power of their offices.
If left alone long enough, such systems often breed literal dynasties of institutionalists through nepotism—indeed, we get the word nepotism from the Latin word nepōs, for nephew, noting how the Popes of the Catholic Church would elevate their nephews and other blood relatives to high offices in the Church's bureaucracy, including that of cardinal—who then, in turn, would elect the next Pope from among their number, perpetuating the system. Meanwhile, far below them in the hierarchy were the humble parish priests, administering to their flocks.
This tendency of all organized systems of management must be actively guarded against in order to diminish corruptive effects on the efficacy and speed of decision making, as such individuals often form bottlenecks in the decision-making process, either through incompetence or through willful obstinacy. Considerations of law enforcement are also paramount, as being in a position of power often gives them significant chances for corruption and self-dealing, which are often acted upon.
—Nationbuilding: How People Move, Talk, Think, Organize, & Structure Themselves, 1888, Amsterdam University Press
Tropes That Appear In This Chapter:
- Rags to Riches: Esther best summed up by the below quote.It was so strange, really. In the last five months, Esther had gone from being a poor widow living with her parents, getting occasional payments from her former in-laws, and working as a scribe to help make ends meet for her family, to… well… this. She was already growing proficient in both Eirish and Norse in addition to the Anglo-Saxon and Diutsch she'd already known. She had a small fortune that was hers and hers alone, earned through her own efforts. And she'd flown through the air with the aid of dragons.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: One of the reasons why Fishwings is so angry that Sigurd gave the Romans dragons is because of the empire's long history of slavery.At least, though, it wouldn't be 'Sigurd'. She was still angry at the young Jorgenson for having given the Romans—the Romans!—dragons to enthrall. She knew he was as dumb as a post, but you would think that something from the histories might have penetrated! The Romans had been brutal thrall-takers for the whole of the fifteen-century existence of their Republic and Empire, and had treated their thralls poorly for that entire time! Even before the rise of Caesar eleven hundred years ago, there had been three uprisings by thralls against the Republic of Rome. She'd read an account of Spartacus and the fate of him and his men, and it still sent chills down her spine. Six thousand men crucified along the Appian Way…She'd flown above that road, on the way south on her mail route. Fifty men per mile between Rome and Capua, all as a message from the ancient Senate of Rome— Know Your Place, Thrall.And Snotlout had given their descendants dragons. She wanted to strangle him!
- Solid Gold Poop: Dragon dung is very sought after because it makes for excellent fertilizer.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Munia's uncle seems to hold this view since he forbade her from being a teacher and instead wished to marry her off.
