The concept of “state capacity” is commonly used in the economic literature, especially to explain why today’s democratic governments seem unable to do anything right, from providing public services to managing budgets. It has become. Recent article headlines economist Let me explain this phenomenon.Government has never been bigger. They’re even more useless: Why voters in the rich world are miserable” (September 23, 2024). According to the magazine, the main cause is an increase in entitlements (guaranteed transfers) rather than public services such as schools and infrastructure. This phenomenon can be seen in America and other wealthy countries around the world.
Another factor is crippling regulation. An example (“Harris Broadband rollout was a huge failure.,” wall street journalOctober 4, 2024):
The Infrastructure Act of 2021 includes $42.5 billion for states to expand broadband to “unserved” areas, primarily rural areas. Three years later, not a single project has broken ground. The US government recently announced that construction would not begin until next year at the earliest. That means many projects won’t be up and running until the end of the decade. …
Each state would be required to submit a plan to the Department of Commerce for how the funds will be used and the bidding process for providers. The Commerce Department has piled on obligations that are found nowhere else in the law and rejected state plans that do not advance progressive goals. …
The administration also targets “seniors,” inmates, racial, religious, and ethnic minorities, “Indigenous and American Indians,” “LGBTQI+ persons,” and “people adversely affected by persistent poverty.” It provides employment priority for “underrepresented” groups, including “underrepresented” groups. Or it’s unequal. ”
It doesn’t matter which party is in power. What governments fail to do right often refers to what certain advocates of state capacity think they should do more of. “State capacity” is a euphemism for state power.
Having expanded in scope and means of action over more than a hundred years, it seems rather surprising that democracies lack state capacity. One indicator is that government spending across the OECD has increased from around 10% of GDP in the early 20th century to more than 40% (and in some cases much more) today. of The Code of Federal Regulations includes: The number of restrictions measured by the frequency of the keywords “must”, “must”, “must not”, “required”, and “prohibited” is 1,089,462 (as of the end of 2022), compared to the end of 1970. This is more than double the number of
Like Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson in the movie, they believe in the illusion of wonderland. narrow hallway, that state power can grow indefinitely as long as “social power” grows at the same time (see my article) review of narrow hallway in regulation). The results can be glimpsed in a subsequent book by Acemoglu (co-authored by Simon Johnson). power and progressThere, an ideal and benevolent Leviathan follows their advice, confronts greedy corporations, and with the support of powerful and altruistic labor unions, fights for every progressive cause (hardly an exaggeration .reference) my regulation review of power and progress).
Anthony de Jasay’s model of a democratic state (see especially his writings) nation) is more helpful in explaining where the state capacity leads. For decades, reputable states have been able to displease politically powerful groups by discriminating in their favor (subsidies, tax breaks, favorable regulations, etc.) at the expense of other citizens. We have responded to this. Leaders and sympathizers of newly disadvantaged groups air their grievances and stake their demands. Political competition leads politicians to seek to satisfy new grievances. Policies pile up, becoming increasingly inconsistent and contradictory. Greater state capacity gained in the process provides further incentives for special interests and their activists to demand further privileges, and the process continues.
Analysts observing growing dissatisfaction are usually unable to identify its true underlying cause. Janal Ganesh is just shy of September 23rd financial times Column titled “”The end of a popular politician”
The cause lies in state capacity, or “state power,” in a democratic system, which degenerates into a political war by all rights claimants against all rights holders, accompanied by expanded redistribution and chaos. Because of the turnover, it is often unclear online who is the beneficiary or the exploiter of the system. The state is increasingly unable to meet all the contradictory demands placed on it. The monstrous state appears powerless. Everyone becomes increasingly dissatisfied. Populists rose up on their promise to assuage the grievances of their supporters by hurting others.
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There are many strange things happening in this image created by DALL-E to illustrate this post, but there are many strange things happening in the world of politics as well. The loss of this poor robot is understandable.
an angry crowd shouting grievances and contradictory demands against the government
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