Word: bok
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...Trouble With Government is divided into four sections: “Is Anything Wrong,” “Looking for Reasons,” “Remedies” and “The Role of the People.” Bok approaches the question of the first section in several ways: through surveys of whether the public thinks things have gotten worse, surveys of whether they have and comparative surveys of the United States and other industrialized countries. He concludes that people think things have gotten worse while in fact they have gotten better, just...
...first section concludes with the realization that the federal government has been important both in causing and solving our domestic problems, and that it will continue to be so. It will continue, Bok says, because a large majority of Americans say it is so. If government is then important, we must find what its problems are, and we must outline solutions. Who is it that causes government’s problems? Bok lines up the usual suspects: special interests, the media and elected officials. He concludes that the demonization of these three groups is exaggerated, citing a variety of studies...
...often overrides this voice; the book is too rigidly structured into 150 pages outlining the problems (Section II) followed by a 150 pages of prospective solutions. By the time we finish reading what the problems are, we are thoroughly frustrated both with our government and with Bok. When he finally starts to discuss the solutions, he must repeat the problems anyway, for by now we have forgotten what the problem was. As a consequence of this structure, he waits until late in the book to discuss what is arguably the central problem of American government: campaign finance. He addresses campaign...
...most insightful parts of The Trouble with Government are those discussing inefficiencies in government. Though Bok sadly falls prey to the modern idolatry of the market, he does identify several points where useful reform is possible. He makes a fairly conclusive case that both legislation and executive regulations are designed less coherently and less skillfully in the United States than in other industrialized democracies. He outlines the reasons for this—our federalist system and bicameral legislature, and the fragmented structure of Congressional committees. He proposes several workable solutions within our framework, most of which boil down to strengthening...
...methodology that is so useful in cases like this is grossly inapplicable to wider social issues—Bok underplays the negative influence of television, for example. The role of government in determining quality of life is large, but not quantifiable; if children fight with their parents, if pop music has become derivative and commercialized, if Hollywood films pander to our baser instincts while better movies are made in Europe, our government is partially to blame. Bok’s attempt to quantify its role in these things fails, but when he is confined to a less overarching...