New research sheds light on how mediocre employees help would-be authoritarians maintain power.
By Amanda Taub
Recommended by: Bob B. and Bruce R.
Bob’s Comments
This article on authoritarianism and power shows why the broad topic of “civil discourse” has many dimensions. Which is why IPV has a “Books, Ideas, and Research Committee” to be on the lookout for significant and practical ideas useful for all of us in our democracy-building work.
This is in the NYT this morning, by Amanda Taub, “Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R.” The subtitle is a quick summary of what the article covers: “New research sheds light on how mediocre employees help would-be authoritarians maintain power.”
One could add that the research sheds light, too, on how mediocre citizens can help would-be authoritarians maintain power. So while understanding civil discourse is important, it turns out also to require some understanding of power, what holds a community together, personal incentives, the moral foundations of democratic engagement, etc.
Bruce’s Comments
I think these are the most important parts of the article that point to solutions.
“Making a Career in Dictatorship,” a new book by two German political scientists, Adam Scharpf and Christian Glassel, reads like what you might get if you crossed Hannah Arendt’s ideas about the “banality of evil” with a business school guide on how to get the most out of low performers.
And:
Mr. Glassel and Mr. Scharpf are concerned that President Trump’s planned expansion of ICE, in particular, could make it an ideal venue for “detouring” by ambitious underperformers who could be deployed for anti-democratic purposes. The worry is especially profound given the storming of the Capitol at the end of Mr. Trump’s first term, albeit by a less organized band of loyalists.
The playbook for a leader to create a loyal security service, they said, is to set up or repurpose an institution that can become a “second ladder” for career promotions, resource it generously and ensure that the barriers to getting hired there are low, signaling that it offers career opportunities to those who cannot find them elsewhere.
I’ve read Hannah Arendt’s ideas about the “banality of evil,” but I don’t recall her giving any solutions. This article gives some clues about how to prevent this banality with accountability for individuals. Some obvious preventions:
- Abolish ICE and any other organization (e.g., DOGE) that has no oversight or accountability by multiple people or laws.
- Make sure there is no “second ladder” shortcut to promotions. Being part of an unaccountable organization should hurt one’s career, not help.
This is an important article, so I archived a PDF copy. You can read it here: