Bureaucrats talk about government and bureaucracies the same as fishermen talk about fishing and truckers talk about trucks. It’s their trade. So what do the bureaucrats say? This book is based on these behind-the-door conversations. Everything in the book started with a conversation with a bureaucrat somewhere at some time. Government bureaucrats operate with different rules than civilians do. There truly is a Village of the Bureaucrats. It is a closed society that civilians are barred from entering. Like all closed societies, there is a code of silence. They operate by their own rules. Civilians are expendable. If they march you off to war and you are killed, so what? If they take all your property and leave you poor, so what? They were just doing their job. They are funded by politicians, not customers, so when you walk into a government office you are not a customer. Walk into a retail store and wave a large handful of cash and you will receive premium service. Walk into a government office and wave the same handful of cash and you will be arrested for attempted corruption. That is just the beginning of the differences between what happens in the civilian world and what happens in the Village of the Bureaucrats. It details the hidden Rules of Government that bureaucrats follow behind their closed doors. Bureaucrats are not dumb people, and they are past masters at maneuvering. Everything in the book was enunciated by a Bureaucrat at one time or another. When Machiavelli pioneered the field of political science he only dealt with princes and small kingdoms. In his day the world was ruled by monarchs. Democracy was a distant Greek memory. Socialism, Communism, and unionized bureaucrats had not been invented. The number of laws and regulations was limited by how much people could write with a quill pen and ink. Communication was by foot, horse, sail or smoke signals. The printing press only became a force long after he was dead. Civil Servants were dependent on the monarch and the Independent Village of the Bureaucrats did not exist. The idea of Computers and the Internet was beyond magic. Yet many things Machiavelli alluded to still remain. Bloodthirsty knights in shining armor have been replaced by bloodthirsty bureaucrats with manicured fingernails and tailored suits. In Machiavelli’s day wealth and power came from land and controlling trade routes. In his day, expanding conquests lead to more wealth and power. Today bureaucrats derive wealth and power from budget line items and growth comes from failure. Things have changed, Machiavelli needs to be updated. In this book you will discover: The bureaucrats do not consider you a customer. The rules that are followed behind the Authorized Personnel Only door. That the government is how you impose your will on your neighbor. Why someday everything you do will be illegal. Why the Capital is generally the largest city in a country. That Pseudobureaucrat is a new field of employment. Why secrets never are and why there isn’t an alien spaceship hidden in a secret hiding place . Why predictions of gloom and doom always come true. As a government defense contractor, Lance Schlichter spent nearly 40 years cycling between private industry and behind the doors of the government. His job took him from the halls of Congress to the Pentagon to far outposts and around the world dealing with various governments. This book was written to share his experiences with those who have to deal with the government, those who are students of the government, and for fans of Machiavelli. When dealing with the government, remember Rule 1: To bureaucrats failure is a growth opportunity and Rule 3: Time means nothing to the government.
