Summary
This document explores some of the negative aspects of cronyism and similar poor methods of hiring or appointing people for positions.
In brief, cronyism is an attack on Democracy because it ignores the direct will and wisdom of the people in favor of giving power to those who may be least qualified for positions. This erodes trust among citizens who feel even more marginalized and ignored.
Cronyism begins with disenfranchisement of citizens, but gradually expands to result in predictable incompetence and failures that frustrate citizens. The failings are covered up and lied about, which makes the situation worse.
Cronyism in business is an attack on capitalism and free market economics. The partnership of business and political cronyism erodes a society. The worst and least qualified people rise to the top and oppress the masses, or figure out a way to take advantage of the masses without them realizing it.
Cronyism Definition
Here is a description of cronyism from Wikipedia where it is included with other forms of political corruption:
- Cronyism is a specific form of in-group favoritism, the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointing “cronies” to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications. This is in contrast to a meritocracy, in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, “cronyism” is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, as doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places. [Source: Wikipedia]
Here is a definition of a spoils system:
- In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a merit system, where offices are awarded or promoted on the basis of some measure of merit, independent of political activity. [Source: Wikipedia]
Nepotism is a type of cronyism where family members are given privilege:
- Nepotism is the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in an occupation or field – for instance business, politics, academia, entertainment, religion or health care. In concept it is similar to cronyism. The term originated with the assignment of nephews, sons, or other relatives to important positions by Catholic popes and bishops. It has often been witnessed in autocracies, whereby traditional aristocracies usually contested amongst themselves in order to obtain leverage, status, etc. Nepotism has been criticized since ancient history by philosophers including Aristotle, Valluvar, and Confucius, condemning it as both evil and unwise. [Source: Wikipedia]
All of the above are variations on the same theme of corruption.
Problems with Cronyism
Here are some of the key failings and problems with the practice of cronyism:
- Corruption — Friends and those indebted to others are not likely to become whistleblowers. As a result, there can be wide-spread corruption without the public being aware.
- Incompetence — Due to people being hired or put into positions based on favor rather than experience and qualifications, there is a high likelihood of incompetence. These inexperienced unqualified people are anxious to hold on to their position without being discovered as unqualified. This causes them to be overcome with vices and typically they are poor managers. Because they have no inherent strengths to defend their position and salary, they attempt to divert attention to others. They remain perpetually indebted to those who put them into their undeserved position.
- Lacking Oversight — Due to the recognition that corruption is likely to be prevalent, those who rely on cronyism will be quick to eliminate oversight committees, regulatory organizations, and domestic policing agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and Department of Homeland Security. If the organizations can’t be eliminated, loyalists will be hired to fill top-level positions.
In the conditions described above, cronyism is likely to spread deep and wide.
Recognizing Cronyism
There are varying degrees of cronyism, and some circumstances that look like cronyism but may reflect the desire to hire or appoint people who are familiar, trusted, and known.
For example, recently proposed federal government appointments include some well known people who seem to be successful in their own careers and have been repeatedly elected by citizens, such as: Doug Bergum, Marco Rubio, and Kristi Noem. As long as they are being placed in positions consistently with their past work and successes, these appointments have minimal cronyism characteristics. People may not like their voting record or policies, but they won’t complain that cronyism was involved in appointing them.
By contrast, some other appointments are of people who do not have a history of being elected by citizens. They do not have past experience or demonstrated success in the position they are being appointed to. Those appointments have the characteristics of cronyism, and thus are considered to be problematic. In some cases, the people being appointed are involved in ongoing investigations and they lack the broad support of party members. These are the worst kind of appointments.
Business success doesn’t always translate into success in government leadership and service. A good business or finance leader may be a complete failure at serving in government. For example, let’s say there is a business leader well known for massive abrupt and cruel layoffs that cause damage to a company. That person may damage the government and our country if they engage in similarly erratic HR practices at the federal level.
If there are people who do not have a career, training, or experience commensurate to the position they are to fill, this raises concerns about cronyism.
Similar to a Lottery
In organizations founded on a cult-like devotion to one or several leaders, cronyism can go unnoticed and may be viewed positively. This is similar to the millions of poor people who gamble or play the lottery. They know that the house always wins, but the excitement of someone getting lucky keeps them supporting the corrupt system. There is a vicarious satisfaction seeing how the winners live.
In communities that have seen the ravages of local casinos extracting wealth from the local community, the casino will be vehemently defended by locals because it’s perceived as “creating jobs” without people noticing that there is a net loss and harm done to the community.
So, in a business or government, where the harm of cronyism can be seen, those who are part of the system will continue to defend it.
Crony Capitalism
In business, cronyism can result in very unqualified people getting promotions. Those unqualified people end up being bosses and managers over dedicated skilled workers who have given years to the organization or company. This is viewed as unfair and results in disgruntled employees and multiple kinds of negative outcomes.
Cronyism Defends Cronyism
Those who rely on cronyism, defend cronyism, and will make claims such as, “See, it’s not that bad. In fact, the outcomes are better than a system based on merit.” Any evidence of the cronyism being corrupt or having bad outcomes will be covered up by those in power. Exaggeration and lies will be relied on to make it appear as if those in charge are doing a great job.
Education and Values at Risk
If you get ahead in life because of who you know, then education and exceptionalism are of little value. This mentality is corrosive and destructive to an entire society.
Next Generation
The next generation of young people could grow up without the knowledge of merit-based systems. They could learn that it is okay to live in a society where the worst people and least qualified get ahead.
For this reason, it is important to preserve the memory of a qualifications-based system of advancement that depends on higher education, exceptionalism at work, and values-based living.