How could they?: Hyper-rational responsibility and the ethics of managerialism

Abstract

The paper is a critique of managerialist ethics. I argue that managerialism utilises a perverse form of consequentialism and a distorted version of Kantian deontology to create a culture that is both punitive and authoritarian. I attend to the question ‘How could they?’ by calling on Buber to reflect on dehumanization processes which make it possible to harm others, and on managerialist deontology to explain how it is possible to feel virtuous whilst doing so. I examine how bureaucracy and hierarchy are utilised to dissipate responsibility and avoid blame at the level of institution, and to attribute blame to individual workers trying to do the right thing. Finally, I describe some of the problematic managerialist practices taking place in IAPT, to show how they fashion and sustain an illusory reality.