Paradox of Professionalization in Public Administration

Synonyms

Bureaucracy; Deep state; Permanent career civil servants; Professionalism

Introduction

As US governments grew and bureaucratic responsibilities expanded, especially accelerating in the 1960s, the professionalization of permanent career bureaucrats at all levels of government increased significantly. As early as the 1960 census, American governments had become the main employers of professionals. More than a third of all professional, technical, and related US workers employed by government possessed professional or technical expertise in identifiable and specialized occupations that required at least a college degree, affording a lifetime career opportunity. By the late 1970s, the national government no longer mirrored the popular image of countless clerks processing piles of forms; instead, it was approaching the structure of a research and development firm. Beginning in the 1950s, state and local governments began growing even faster than the national government and became...