The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong: Difference between revisions

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{{a|book review|}}{{br|The Peter Principle}}, by Dr. {{author|Laurence J. Peter}} and {{author|Raymond Hull}}{{quote|“I don’t know whether the world is run by smart people who are putting is on, or imbeciles who really mean it.”1}}
{{a|book review|}}{{br|The Peter Principle}}, by Dr. {{author|Laurence J. Peter}} and {{author|Raymond Hull}}{{quote|“I don’t know whether the world is run by smart people who are putting it on, or imbeciles who really mean it.}}


This classic satire of modern management is, of course, largely correct and — but for some rather dated scenarios and value judgments — remains highly relevant to explain the mess of modern [[middle management]].
This classic satire of modern management is, of course, largely correct and — but for some rather dated scenarios and value judgments — remains highly relevant to explain the mess of modern [[middle management]].
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As formulated by the authors, in the same way the it does with infinity:
As formulated by the authors, in the same way the it does with infinity:
{{Quote|''Incompetence plus incompetence equals incompetence.''}}
{{Quote|''Incompetence plus incompetence equals incompetence.''}}
But this doesn’t quite capture it, for as we we know no, out of this summed, universal incompetence somehow yields some value. Indeed this is the singular wonder of modern global capitalism: how something steered, collectively, by such a bunch of patent morons, can produce anything worthwhile at all. And clearly, persistently, it does, notwithstanding the byproducts and idiotic externalities it generates (the [[human resources]] military industrial complex, for example, seems [[calculated]] specifically to do nothing but frustrate the tenets of basic common sense and good judgment, yet is the most powerful infrastructure component of any modern corporation.
But this doesn’t quite capture it for, as we know, out of this summed, universal, [[reductionism|irreducible]] incompetence somehow comes significant ''[[value]]''. This is the singular wonder of modern global capitalism: how something steered, collectively, by such a bunch of morons can produce anything worthwhile at all. And clearly, persistently, reliably and notwithstanding the byproducts and idiotic externalities it generates,<ref>The [[human resources]] military industrial complex, for example, seems [[calculated]] specifically to do nothing but frustrate the tenets of basic common sense and good judgment, yet is the most powerful infrastructure component of any modern corporation.</ref> it ''does''.
{{sa}}
{{sa}}
*[[Agency problem]]
*[[Agency problem]]