Demosclerosis: The Silent Killer of American Government

by Jonathan Rauch

It is no secret that Americans are dissatisfied with government. But while the frustration and anger are real, the way we tend to view the problem is all wrong. Rauch reveals the real problems with government, and offers a bracing tonic for unclogging the public arteries.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History

260 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 1994

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the star rating fool you into thinking the content is happy-go-lucky. I only "loved" it in the sense that Jonathan Rauch's analysis of special-interest politics is/was on-the-nose and, unfortunately, more relevant today than ever before. As he sees it, the problem with government isn't so much gridlock or politicians themselves, but lobbies and special interest groups that represent a majority of the American public, i.e., all of us. His assessment of the problem is what he calls "demosclerosis," which basically means the failure of government to adapt and effectively solve problems. He spends a few chapters setting up his solution by going into how special interests, lobbies, subsidies, and the "transfer-seeking" economy all work. His most potent solution (which I don't has been seriously tried yet, 20 years after publication) is a combination of tax hikes and spending cuts, among other smaller things like pitting special interests against each other and opening up trade barriers to promote competition. If anything the problem has only been exacerbated in the years since and Rauch's words, yet unheeded (although public outrage has certainly reached a new level which politicians this cycle are tapping into with varying degrees of success) are needed in this volatile political climate. Thankfully, the book is nonpartisan and there is something for everyone of any political persuasion. In short: read this book, pass it to someone you know, and make your voice heard.

[Joe Pitts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rauch approaches the problems inherent in public bureaucracies with as much mastery (if with fewer words) as James Q. Wilson manages to in his definitive study of government, "Bureaucracy." Written in Rauch’s clear and compelling journalistic style, Demosclerosis applies Mancur Olson’s political theories to modern American government. He makes a compelling case against what he describes as the “parasite economy” — lobbyists and special interest groups — that saps productive capacity from the economy while layering new public program upon new public program.

Put simply, public bureaucracies quickly generate their own momentum. The cost of a particular subsidy program, for instance, may be small when split up among all taxpayers, but those benefiting receive an outsized benefit. (Concentrated benefits and distributed costs.) These new programs also generate new constituencies, and new losers (those who are left out to dry when one industry receives support while another doesn’t), drawing evermore interests into the mix. Reagan’s famous adage proves true: There’s nothing more permanent than a temporary government program.

How can you solve these issues? How can government be forced to spend within its means and not become a behemoth fueled by the productivity-sapping industries (lobbying, non-profit special interest groups, etc.)? Rauch has an updated version of this book he assures me provides different answers than are found in the original version (which I’ve yet to read). So I’ll venture to provide my own answer, which starts with a major caveat: There is no easy answer.

But a good first step will be more policymakers (and voters) thinking consciously about the logic of public bureaucracies, and being disciplined in their legislative responses to new calls for funding the shiny new industry or pet project that happens to be the taste du jour. Ultimately, it seems that eliminating some of this bloat over time will take political courage from a president or a Congress that has built up enough political capital to take on vested interests. And they can’t all be taken on at once: They must be strategically trimmed down over the course of time (but not too much time).

Overall, the book reads well, but sometimes feels disjointed, mostly due to Rauch's journalistic style of writing that makes each chapter read like a long-form op-ed. Because I bought the old version of this book, the "solutions" section was basically useless (so I do recommend buying the updated version, titled "Government's End, 2nd Edition").

[Frank Inserra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is now 28 years old, and it shows. That's not an indictment of the book though. It just doesn't fit very well with the American political narrative of the 21st Century, which takes no prisoners, admits no fault, concedes nothing, and consigns moderation and the reality of Government operations (both its successes and failures) to footnotes in a more aspirational diatribe about what this or that faction views as success or fair. Nevertheless, it's a great book that observes some enduring truths about a delusional American public that divorces the notion of "special interests" from the self-interest (for which they all advocate daily in the American political process and National dialog - personally and in the aggregate through their many lobbies, left and right). It's always the other guy's interest that is "special" and theirs that is National. They probably screamed like stuck pigs about the publication of these truths in 1994, but would do so even more in 2022 -- where successful businesses are either rightly condemned for contorting the field of competition with the levers of Government or wrongly held in contempt for too ably turning a buck and not treating their employees like shareholders and CEOs, and usually both. It is the same America where people without means and ready financial recourse are asked to subsist in perpetuity and, perhaps, regarded as heros for their cheapened sweat and risk-taking, but then condemned as malingerers or cheats for accepting assistance. Yet, means-testing is an apostasy. And, to all of this, politicians will agree, add to the national debt, keep dated or failing programs knee-deep in debt-financed funds, depriving themselves of the opportunity to fund or even recognize necessary new programs or those that require current emphasis. This book will find few friends. That's too bad.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember enjoying the book when I read. It was part of the directed reading for my Winter Term in Washington. I'm sure some of it is still relevant, but social networks have changed, for instance that book was pretty much pre-wide spread internet use. Plus, we didn't go spiraling out into uncontrolled debt we actually had some balanced budgets and then started spiraling into uncontrolled debt again. Plus, all lots of trends I learned about like "the end of the imperial presidency " didn't pan out. Dick Chaney had been plotting to bring it back since Watergate. He's not one to limited by a like thing the the Constitution.

[Will Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent non-partisan look at why government becomes ineffective at solving problems. It should be required reading for all eligible voters. Please read this book and tell everyone you know to read it.

[Maria Porter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them, but I had to force myself to finish this one.