Adam Smith on Administrative Bloat
Adam Smith has some interesting things to say for those concerned about administrative bloat in higher ed and, by extension, in any modern institution. Smith's account of the rise of capitalism--or more accurately, the rise to power of the mercantile class--suggests a useful coda (avant la lettre) to Marx's account. Smith, no less than Marx, sees the rise to dominance of the merchants as occurring through a gradual overthrow of the feudal landowners. What he adds to this broad picture is the
