The Impossibility of a Neutral Hierarchy

Abstract

It is commonplace for presidents, not long after taking office, to develop a distrust of the information and advice sent to them by the federal bureaucracy. All too often, what is sent appears biased. The information looks selective, irrelevant, or misleading. The bureaucracy's interpretations of events seem to reflect an insular bureaucratic culture. The bureaucrats' advice appears self-serving and more suited to their own needs and interests than those of president or country. There are many reasons information and advice sent to the president might be biased. Some sources of bias come from outside the bureaucracy. Interest groups and their congressional allies, for example, can sometimes force bureaucrats to make one choice rather than another. Other sources of bias stem from the views, interests, and perspectives of the bureaucrats themselves. Air Force officers often seem to prefer flying manned airplanes to tending unmanned drones and supervising missiles in silos. Some Forest Service officials appear to prefer consumptive uses of the national forestlands-logging, mining, grazing-to recreational uses. Many