Bi-Weekly Discussion - Can We Escape The "Iron Laws" of Bureaucracy?

Details

This is going to be an online meetup using Zoom. If you've never used Zoom before, don't worry — it's easy to use and free to join.

Click on the link above at the scheduled date/time to log in...

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CAN WE ESCAPE THE IRON LAWS OF BUREAUCRACIES & CORPORATIONS?

INTRODUCTION:

What you're seeing below is a blank discussion outline. If there's no title listed above for this meetup, it probably means I haven't decided on the topic. If there's a title but not much else, it means I've picked a topic but I'm still looking around for articles & videos clips to stimulate discussion.

If you see the topic and think it's interesting, please RSVP early since this gives me a general idea of about how many people will be showing up.

I typically try to finish up the discussion outline the weekend before a meetup, but sometimes I can't finish it until a couple days before the discussion. Luckily, I only ask that people watch a few video clips prior to attending the meetup and they generally only come to 30-45 minutes total, so even if it takes me until the day prior to finish up the discussion outline you'll still have time to prepare.

So what's up will all the X's below? Meetup's new format gives me a very short character limit that makes long discussion outline impossible. However, I found a way around it - by copying old meetups before the new character limit was introduced. But there's a catch, if all of the blank space isn't filled when I copy the meetup, the new shorter character limit will be applied, so I'm forced to fill up all the available space with X's. I know that sounds kinda ridiculous, but it's the only way I can still write up long, detailed discussion outlines.

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RELEVANT MATERIALS FROM PAST MEETUPS:

Back in Feb. 2021, we had a meetup entitled "The Future of Work in the Age of Automation" where we discussed concerns that many workers could be displaced by robots & computer algorithms in the near future, and possible solutions like a robot tax, universal basic income, and/or a federal jobs guarantee.

Back in Feb. 2024, we had a meetup entitled "The Future of Work After COVID & ChatGPT" where we discussed how the job market has changed in recent years as the COVID pandemic sped up the shift to remote work and a reprioritization of work-life balance.
https://www.meetup.com/philadelphia-political-agnostics/events/298155053/

In Jan. 2025, we had a meetup entitled "Trump's Economic & Social Policies" and the 3rd section addressed Trump's renewed promises to "drain the swamp" as well as the creation of the Elon Musk-led "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) and the conflict between Trump's tax cuts and promises to reduce the federal budget deficit.
https://www.meetup.com/philadelphia-political-agnostics/events/304385111/

In May 2025, Braver Angels hosted a discussion of Michael Lewis's documentary "Who Is Government?" that attempted to debunk the stereotype of the irrelevant bureaucrat and show that much of the business of government is essential rather than wasteful & inefficient.
https://www.meetup.com/philadelphia-political-agnostics/events/307680696/

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the major debates over XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch the numbered videos linked under each section - the videos come to about about XX minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I've listed some questions under each section to stimulate discussion. We'll do our best to address most of them, as well as whatever other questions our members raise. I figure we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section.

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I. SECTION 1 HEADING: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SECTION 1, QUESTION 1: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SECTION 1, QUESTION 2: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SECTION 1, QUESTION 3: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SECTION 1, QUESTION 4: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SECTION 1, QUESTION 5: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1a) VIDEO 1 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (video - XX:XX min)