Anne Applebaum

It meant that the civil service was often people's cousins or people's sister-in-law or party loyalists who needed jobs and who could be given them, at least for the time being. The point of working for the government was not to prevent Americans from being poisoned by air pollution or to make sure that children got vaccines.

It meant that the civil service was often people's cousins or people's sister-in-law or party loyalists who needed jobs and who could be given them, at least for the time being. The point of working for the government was not to prevent Americans from being poisoned by air pollution or to make sure that children got vaccines.

The point of working for the government was to get a salary and be loyal to whichever president or whichever political movement was had put you there. Patronage systems are famously corrupt because, again, the people who are in those jobs are only in them because they're being paid.

The point of working for the government was to get a salary and be loyal to whichever president or whichever political movement was had put you there. Patronage systems are famously corrupt because, again, the people who are in those jobs are only in them because they're being paid.

The point of working for the government was to get a salary and be loyal to whichever president or whichever political movement was had put you there. Patronage systems are famously corrupt because, again, the people who are in those jobs are only in them because they're being paid.

And they're also famously inefficient because the point is that people are hired not for their expertise or their skills, but they're hired for their political loyalties. Teddy Roosevelt was one of many, although he was a leading voice in the 19th century, of arguing that this system was bad for America and that it should end.

And they're also famously inefficient because the point is that people are hired not for their expertise or their skills, but they're hired for their political loyalties. Teddy Roosevelt was one of many, although he was a leading voice in the 19th century, of arguing that this system was bad for America and that it should end.

And they're also famously inefficient because the point is that people are hired not for their expertise or their skills, but they're hired for their political loyalties. Teddy Roosevelt was one of many, although he was a leading voice in the 19th century, of arguing that this system was bad for America and that it should end.

And so the idea that the civil service should be a meritocracy, that in some cases there should be exams or standards that determine who gets hired and who gets promoted— This all dates from that era, kind of the civil service reform movement. And we're so used to it in America that we don't even notice it. We just assume that's what civil servants are and that's what they do.

And so the idea that the civil service should be a meritocracy, that in some cases there should be exams or standards that determine who gets hired and who gets promoted— This all dates from that era, kind of the civil service reform movement. And we're so used to it in America that we don't even notice it. We just assume that's what civil servants are and that's what they do.

And so the idea that the civil service should be a meritocracy, that in some cases there should be exams or standards that determine who gets hired and who gets promoted— This all dates from that era, kind of the civil service reform movement. And we're so used to it in America that we don't even notice it. We just assume that's what civil servants are and that's what they do.

But of course, you can end this system just as you began it, and you could end the legal protections that civil servants enjoy, and you could undermine or destroy their ethos, as I said, this ethos of neutrality and patriotism and loyalty to the rule of law.

But of course, you can end this system just as you began it, and you could end the legal protections that civil servants enjoy, and you could undermine or destroy their ethos, as I said, this ethos of neutrality and patriotism and loyalty to the rule of law.

But of course, you can end this system just as you began it, and you could end the legal protections that civil servants enjoy, and you could undermine or destroy their ethos, as I said, this ethos of neutrality and patriotism and loyalty to the rule of law.

Some of the tactics that have already been used against the civil service, so these abrupt, very harsh cuts in federal funding, that's already happened. So the National Institutes for Health, the NIH, already made very big cuts in funding of biomedical research, which a handful of big research universities noticed immediately.

Some of the tactics that have already been used against the civil service, so these abrupt, very harsh cuts in federal funding, that's already happened. So the National Institutes for Health, the NIH, already made very big cuts in funding of biomedical research, which a handful of big research universities noticed immediately.

Some of the tactics that have already been used against the civil service, so these abrupt, very harsh cuts in federal funding, that's already happened. So the National Institutes for Health, the NIH, already made very big cuts in funding of biomedical research, which a handful of big research universities noticed immediately.

orders to alter or remove so-called DEI programs or anything that mentions gender or diversity or minorities from campuses are already beginning to filter down. I believe it was the National Science Foundation that has produced a list of suspect words to look for in grant applications and project applications that would cause red flags. And the words are words like diversity and women.

orders to alter or remove so-called DEI programs or anything that mentions gender or diversity or minorities from campuses are already beginning to filter down. I believe it was the National Science Foundation that has produced a list of suspect words to look for in grant applications and project applications that would cause red flags. And the words are words like diversity and women.

orders to alter or remove so-called DEI programs or anything that mentions gender or diversity or minorities from campuses are already beginning to filter down. I believe it was the National Science Foundation that has produced a list of suspect words to look for in grant applications and project applications that would cause red flags. And the words are words like diversity and women.