The Hidden Plight of the Street Level Bureaucrat
When we think of power, we normally think of figures in crisp suits with red ties, sparkling white teeth, and broad, fake smiles — the politicians who kiss babies and the business leaders who donate to them. But that’s not really how most people experience power. Power, for many of us, is closer, more banal, and often maddening. It’s the power that we encounter in daily life that so often helps or harms people.
Rarely do we come away from the Department of Motor Vehicles office smiling ourselves, a big grin on our faces after a pleasant and efficient interaction with government. It’s such a universal experience that “the DMV” has become a stand-in for the gruff inefficiency of public bureaucracy. But we rarely pause to consider the hidden puzzle within. Many, if not most, of the people who go into public service—including as government office workers—do so because they want to help others. So why do they end up almost universally appearing to be callous and indifferent?
One political theorist decided to find out. And he did it in a way that you have to respect: he temporarily became a “street level bureaucrat,” part of the front line in the government’s interaction with the public. And after a long time embedded on the inside, he realized that the answer to “why is the DMV so awful?” is far more complicated and far more interesting than it first appears…
