Directions of Rule

When Western liberals talk about governance, we have a tendency to make a two-way distinction between rule of law (good, exceptionless, orderly, done by procedure, meritocratic) and rule of man (bad, filled with exceptions, chaotic, corrupt, done on a whim, rewards sycophancy). This two-way distinction has a hard time explaining the rise of China, which doesn't have Western-style rule of law but, at least until recently, has done just fine at economic growth.Vogel is a biographer and historian, not a political theorist, but his description of Dengist China's civil service suggests a three-way division into rule by procedure, rule by loyalty and rule by target. This is a spectrum--virtually all governments are run on a combination of the three--but it is worth making the distinction to talk about the role of China's governance in its rise.-- by "WilliamYiffBuckley", 11. Nov, 2019.Rule by Loyalty is what we think of when we think of "rule of man". Civil servants and similar parties are rewarded or punished based on their loyalty to their boss or other important figures. This often looks like rule-by-procedure or rule-by-target, but the real measure is loyalty. A good example is contemporary Russia, where Kremlin loyalists often get away scott-free for law-breaking or poor performance that gets opposition figures nailed in court. Corruption under rule-of-loyalty is rampant. In the worst-case scenario, civil society breaks down completely as loyalty trumps any accountability or predictability.-- by "WilliamYiffBuckley", 11. Nov, 2019.
== Rhizomata ==
Rule by Law; Systems of Rule
== References ==