Painterly wilted potted plant surrounded by a spiral of stacked paper forms.

Original artwork, not a still

The English Constitution

Walter Bagehot

It is an inevitable defect, that bureaucrats will care more for routine than for results.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

This criticizes how institutional systems tend to prioritize following established procedures over actually achieving meaningful outcomes, suggesting that officials become so absorbed in process and rules that the real purpose of their work gets lost.

Context reviewed

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