Joseph Postell’s Bureaucracy In America
BUREAUCRACY IN AMERICA: The Administrative State’s Challenge To Constitutional Government. Joseph Postell. University of Missouri.
Cover courtesy of University of Missouri.
Joseph Postell’s treatise, as part of the University of Missouri’s Studies in Constitutional Democracy, couldn’t be more relevant, given President Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election amid promises to “drain the swamp” and change business as usual in Washington. Many people say they supported Trump because they are sick and tired of bureaucracy and the collective state’s over-reaching regulations. As Postell points out, this movement has been steadily growing over the past century as the advent of the “administrative state” has seen unelected officials in agencies create policy – action that directly contradicts constitutionalism and disregards the concept of a democratic government. Is the United States still a true democracy or has it been replaced by a web of sub-governments that operate as entities unto themselves? More than anything, this book was written to pose hard questions, forcing us to ask ourselves what kind of government we want to live under. Presented in a classic academic tone, readers will find Postell’s narrative erudite and impeccably researched; ultimately, this book is worth the time and effort to read because of what it says about the future of the Constitution.
Electric Review 