Friedrich Hayek and the 'Federal Bureau of Kudzu'

What does kudzu have to do with political philosophy?

If you are not familiar with this plant, kudzu is a climbing, fast-growing vine native to much of Asia. Although first introduced to the United States in 1876, it was not until the Dust Bowl era in the 1930s that the plant was heavily promoted for the purpose of controlling soil erosion. Once it obtains a foothold on a piece of land, it quickly spreads and smothers other vegetation until it achieves domination.

In The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek contrasts "planned" economies managed by centralized authorities versus free markets wherein individuals make economic decisions according to each one's interests. Per Hayek, "The common features of all collectivist systems may be described ... as the deliberate organization of the labors of society for a definite social goal." 

This is in contrast to the American ideal, which tends to maximize the liberty of the individual. Hayek notes, "It is this recognition of the individual as the ultimate judge of his ends, the belief that as far as possible his own views ought to govern his actions, that forms the essence of the individualist position."

The phrase "as far as possible" is significant, because our nation's founders recognized the need to allocate resources and take collective action based on the common good. In fact, it was the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation that led them to adopt the Constitution. In our republic, the determination of collective action is made by the Legislature (Congress), acting as the representatives of the people. The Executive Branch implements the action. 

However, legislating is hard work since it, as Hayek says, "involves the choice between conflicting or competing ends — different needs of different people." The difficulty of reaching agreement on common action makes it appealing to legislators to deal in generalities and leave the details to specialists in the Executive Branch. This tendency has given rise in the United States to what is often called the "administrative state." Congress passes a general law but leaves the details to be determined by "experts" within the Executive Branch. From this dynamic has grown the proliferation of departments, agencies, administrations, bureaus, commissions, and so on that today constitute the bulk of the Executive Branch.

This is where the notion of kudzu comes in. The tendency for more and more of society's decisions to be delegated to and made collectively by bureaucrats, rather than individuals, is similar in several regards to the proliferation of kudzu in a plot of ground. For this article, I will label this tendency the "Federal Bureau of Kudzu," or FBK for short, and note the following similarities.

First, we should realize that kudzu was originally imported with the best of intentions to address a real problem — i.e., devastating soil erosion. In the same regard, the FBK was instituted to deal with real, complex issues of a modern, technological society. The need for experts to study issues and formulate detailed policy is clear.

Second, out of good intentions came unintended consequences. Promoted as it was by the Soil Conservation Service, kudzu was planted widely and grew rapidly across the southeastern United States. Today it is estimated to cover more than seven million acres; has been found as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada; and is widely recognized as a major nuisance in many areas.

The FBK is a consequence of the expansion of scope of the federal government, which today far exceeds the limits established in the Constitution. Members of Congress, often with good intentions, have moved to address problems raised by their constituents. However, assigning more authority to the FBK means restricting the freedom of individual Americans to choose what is best for them. For a recent example, consider proposals to ban natural gas stoves. President Reagan said it best during his farewell address to the nation: "there's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts."

Third, once kudzu becomes entrenched in a landscape, it can be difficult to eradicate. Merely cutting back the vines does not work. What is required is to dig down to the root crown, from which the roots run, and kill it. A plot of ground can have many crowns, and if even one survives, it can quickly recover its dominion.

As Hayek notes, once the central authority — i.e., the FBK — "exceeds a certain proportion of the whole, the effects of its actions dominate the whole system." When politically contentious decisions are made by unelected officials, individual citizens often have little or no recourse, either through their members of Congress or via the courts.

Fourth, there is hope. Although it is prone to spread rampantly and is difficult to control, kudzu can be managed if the effort is made. Kudzu flourishes in areas left unattended, but the means to eradicate it from any given location are well known and readily available.

Likewise, bureaucracy requires careful attention to limit it to those situations where it is appropriate. As citizens and voters, we must hold our elected representatives accountable for managing the FBK. Members of Congress must take seriously their responsibility to work through political differences and reach workable agreements for collective action, rather than deferring hard decisions to unaccountable bureaucrats. At the same time, they must recognize that not every problem is a government problem, and that even a government problem may not necessarily be a federal problem. Many issues are much better worked at a state or local level, closer to the people who are directly affected.

If you haven't read The Road to Serfdom, I recommend you add it to your reading list. Oh, and don't plant any kudzu without careful consideration beforehand!

Harold Lowery is the author of From Lexington to Yorktown. Warning: This novel references actual American history.