The Bureaucrats Won't Be Toppled: Revolts No Longer Work
9 hours ago
- #Democratic Erosion
- #Military Power Shifts
- #Bureaucratic Governance
- Appointed administrators and bureaucrats have gained political power over elected legislators across the Western world, with major decisions increasingly made by agencies and judges rather than congresses or parliaments.
- Changes in weapons technology, concentrating military power in state militaries since the World Wars, have reduced the threat of popular revolts, undermining the historical check on state power and shifting influence away from the people.
- Historically, amateur-friendly weapons like muskets distributed military power broadly, leading to democratic reforms in the 18th and 19th centuries, but professionalized systems like tanks and airplanes have since centralized power, making revolts ineffective against modern armies.
- Aging populations further skew power toward state administrators, as middle-aged men dominate state-controlled institutions like police and conscript armies, while young men, traditionally drivers of revolts, become less numerous.
- In the U.S., Congress has ceded authority to executive agencies and the Supreme Court, reducing elections to ceremonial roles, while examples in Europe show administrators disqualifying popular candidates, reflecting a broader decline in democratic accountability.