of Newly proposed Ministry of Government Efficiency Or that DOGE promises to make the U.S. government leaner and more effective. But advocates of efficiency would be wise to heed the warnings of 19th century British economist William Stanley Jevons. “The more efficiently you do something, the more you tend to do it.”
In an 1865 essay, Jevons wrote that the British Empire too much coal. Coal may be cheap now, but if it becomes expensive, he warned, the cost of increasing British colonialism's military and industrial power could bring down the empire.
Modern experts scoffed. Coal engines were becoming more efficient each day, and they rebuked Jevons for his pessimistic thinking. But Mr Jevons stood firm, arguing that efficiency was a trap. Rather than reducing coal consumption through more efficient use, these technological developments only make it easier and cheaper to burn coal.
The problem, Jevons explained, is that while individuals and companies use coal more efficiently, total coal consumption across the empire increases. Paradoxically, efficiency increases consumption.
In the century and a half since Jevons made his pessimistic prediction, we have seen it come true. wide range of settings. More efficient home appliances used more oftenThis means that they consume more power in total. A car with good fuel efficiency is drove a longer distanceconsumes more fuel. Genetically modified crops, which are supposed to reduce pesticide loads, result in farmers planting more crops and Then spray some more. Efficiency can backfire by making things easier and more necessary.
On the surface, efficiency ironically means that you end up using more coal, electricity, fuel, or time than you would otherwise. But on a deeper level, efficiency can also limit our imagination for building our world in ways that work better. For Jevons, coal efficiency not only makes it easier to use more coal; It also helped make fossil fuels the linchpin of industrial capitalism.
When we solve problems through efficiency, we often end up doubling down on systems that were flawed to begin with. More efficient energy use will limit climate change Or that Home appliances will eliminate gender disparity in domestic work Or give women more time. Instead of making climate change and patriarchy more efficient, we could be more imaginative and recognize a stable planet and its immense value. Trillions of dollars of unpaid domestic labor.
Because efficiency is both economic and cultural. It depends on the situation and position of power. Returning to Jevons, coal may continue to be the cheapest fuel I pay for in Indiana, but it also means I have direct access to smog, polluted rivers, mountain ecosystems, lung cancer, etc. It's just because you haven't paid any additional costs. someone else pays That's the cost to me.
Jevons' paradox tends to fall on a parade of people excited about new technological fixes, but Jevons was no Luddite or social justice warrior. He did not write out of hatred for technology, or a desire to protect the environment or the welfare of miners. Jevons was a staunch defender of British colonialism and saw coal efficiency as a threat to British imperial hegemony. But we might use his insights to remind us of our own goals.
What is a more efficient government trying to accomplish? And what systems will it strengthen? DOGE proposes to rein in spending in the name of efficiency. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that such efforts do not lead governments to further litigation and public costs for health, environment, and education. At a deeper level, any effort toward efficiency runs the risk of worsening outcomes. unpaid work It keeps our existing world moving.
The pursuit of efficiency forces us to declare what (and whose) work belongs in the economy and what (and whose) does not. This is a cultural issue that is common to our values. Public expenditures can be costly. But we need to be aware that in striving for a more efficient government, we will collectively end up paying more.
andrew flax He is an associate professor of anthropology at Purdue University, specializing in economics and the environment.
