On Authority and Responsibility

LI

2024.06.16

Authority without responsibility is rent seeking. Responsibility without authority won’t get anything done.

We visit the Land of Bananas to see how this dynamic might shake out.

Responsibility vs Authority

At the outset, important definitions: 

Responsibility: Being accountable for something.

Authority: Having the power to take certain actions.

In the context of this blog, I have full authority and full responsibility. I am responsible for publishing every Sunday; I also have full authority to do so. If Beehiiv self-destructs in a flaming inferno, that would suck, but I would have authority to come up with a solution. Maybe I’d just move to SubStack or Medium. And, if they blew up, I’d email you all on the same bcc’d message. 

When I go to a jiu jitsu gym, I have both lower authority and lower responsibility than I do in the context of my blog. While I will help another attendee if they are having a hard time with a drill, and they will do the same for me, I am not responsible for their confusion. I am also certainly not responsible for what the pair of attendees at the other side of the mats are doing, nor would I really have authority to correct it if it were severely inaccurate. The difference between my authority and responsibilities level here and with a blog is to be expected–in different contexts in everyone’s lives, there are different levels of authority and responsibility. 

In both of the above examples, my authority matches my responsibility. However, problems arise when there is a mismatch between authority and responsibility. What if I were responsible for sending this blog but did not hav e the authority to do so?

To explore further, we’ll visit the Land of Bananas.

El Presidente

Let’s say you’re the Good Intentioned President in the Land of Bananas, a small island nation in the Pacific that is perfectly equidistant between some point on the coast of the continental US and some point on the coast of Japan. It’s a beautiful place, it really is. 

As a recently elected official who is responsible for the well being of your people, you’ve made it clear that you’re focused on increasing Well Being per Capita of the people of your land.

You begin to brainstorm different ways to help out the Land of Bananas, including increasing tourism, diversifying the economy away from just Bananas, maybe adding solar farms to power cheap compute, or even promoting the virtual value added reselling of ERPs from Japanese markets to US markets. So many ideas abound, but you know whatever you do, you’ll be responsible for the outcome.

It’s a heavy responsibility, but, for the time being, you do have the authority to act on it.

The Ministry of Authority

Along comes the Wizard of Rent Seeking out of the Ministry of Authority, one of the oldest institutions of your small island nation. 

Now, the Wizard of Rent Seeking has been around for quite some time. He was educated at one of the most prestigious US universities and has been of loyal service to the Land of Bananas through thick and thin. Although, he has made it clear that when the Banana Drought of the 90s devastated the economy, he was not responsible for it. As a matter of fact, if his suggested policy would have been followed, the whole terrific ordeal would have been avoided altogether. 

Now, the Wizard of Rent Seeking is referring to his vast experience and authority as he suggests that you, the President, implement a certain new policy focused on economic growth. 

He suggests that you invest heavily in a new technology. In tandem, the CEO of Grift Co is claiming that he can harvest the Latent Banana Energy (LBE) from the farms on islands not too unlike yours. The energy could then be used to power economic growth by fueling things like Large Language Models. 

Wow, what an offer… the Island of Bananas can become a hub for AI! And, who knows, maybe the energy created can be kept track of on the Blockchain, what joy!

While you, the President, are a bit skeptical, the Wizard of Rent Seeking continues to insist and publicly campaigns for the decision. He makes it clear that you might even be negligent if you don’t give it a try. So, you give the Wizard of Rent Seeking sufficient authority to oversee the provision of generous subsidies, and Grift Co sets up its LBE Harvesters. Of course, you’re still responsible for the wellbeing of the island.

Grift Co

Within two years and a number of follow-on subsidies, LBE and Grift Co have still not delivered any energy. As the President, you feel terribly responsible. You feel that you’re failing your people. You’ve supported LBE quite strongly and did all you could to make it work. You’re considering cutting ties and trying something else.

However, the Wizard of Rent Seeking reminds you that you can’t do that now. That would be giving up on your people! Surely, you must’ve done something wrong in the implementation? Perhaps you didn’t give Grift Co the proper land grants, or friendly enough legislation, or enough subsidies? Maybe you should give them and the Wizard of Rent Seeking even more authority to make it work. Maybe you should grant the Wizard of Rent Seeking a higher position in the Ministry of Authority. After-all, he has the expertise. You can take a back seat and let him handle the problems.

You think the Wizard of Rent Seeking is maybe right, so you give him more room to work. 

And, another two years later, when you’re up for re-election, you, the Good Intentioned President, end up not even running. After all, you’ve taken responsibility for your failure to increase Well Being per Capita to the people.  

Another President is elected and is enticed by the promises of the Wizard of Rent Seeking. After all, Grift Co is so close to making its big breakthrough, they just need another month or so…

Good Intentions

The Good Intentioned President had all of the responsibility, and none of the authority. The Wizard of Rent Seeking has all of the authority, and none of the responsibility. 

As good intentioned as he was, the President couldn’t get anything of note done. And, as ill intentioned as he was, the Wizard of Rent Seeking will keep extracting value and evading blame. 

There needs to be a marriage of accountability and responsibility. If there’s not, you’ll be left with a mess.

You have to break a few eggs to make a cake. If you’re told you don’t have authority to break the eggs but are still asked to make the cake, perhaps it’s time to find a new kitchen. 

Live Deeply,