Annals of Government Incompetence
13th July 2014
In a neglected speech by Calvin Coolidge entitled “The Limitations of the Law,” given to the American Bar Association in 1922 (but not available online that I’ve been able to find), Coolidge offers the following observation on one of the inherent defects of the Progressive theory of the Administrative State:
Under this weight [of ever larger government] the former accuracy of administration breaks down. The government has not at its disposal a supply of ability, honesty, and character necessary for the solution of all these problems, or an executive capacity great enough for their perfect administration. Nor is it in possession of a wisdom which enables it to take in great enterprises and manage them with no ground of criticism. We cannot rid ourselves of the human element in our affairs by an act of legislation which places them under a jurisdiction of a public commission. . . Its attempt must be accompanied with the full expectation of very many failures. . .