Non-elected government employees who work in non-political and non-judicial roles. Civil servants are hired based on merit and seniority, and their jobs often continue through political leadership changes and are insulated from political pressure. Civil servants are the backbone of the state—they make the government “work.” There is broad consensus among economists that every economy needs basic public goods to thrive. Civil servants—government employees—are those who implement the provision of these essential public goods. A "public good" is a commodity or service that is available to everyone in a society without reducing its availability to others, meaning it is both "non-excludable" (no one can be prevented from using it) and "non-rivalrous" (one person's use doesn't diminish the availability for others); examples include national defense, clean air, and streetlights, and they are typically provided by a government through taxes. Civil servants are the vast majority of federal workers. They’re generally hired through an application process and have strong protections once in their positions.
The Trump administration is pursuing sweeping changes to the federal workforce, aiming to increase political control over civil servants and reduce the size of the bureaucracy. The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other private-sector executives, has been tasked with streamlining government operations, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and cutting what the administration describes as bureaucratic waste. Central to President Trump’s effort is anexecutive order that would reclassify tens of thousands of “policy influencing” career civil servant positions and make them political appointees. This would change the civil service from being merit based to being political based. And would lead to a firing and then hiring of many members of the bureaucracy whenever there was a presidential election. The evidence shows that the establishment of a professional civil service made the U.S. government more effective in providing goods more conducive to economic growth.
What branches of government could fight over control of the civil service?
What is currently happening to our formerly professional and merit-based civil service? What is an antonym (opposite) for civil service?
What could the Supreme Court do about President Trump’s recent gutting of the civil service?
What could the Congress do about President Trump’s recent gutting of the civil service?
Do you think this would be a good time to join the civil service?
What are some things the governments have trouble doing without a strong civil service?
When members of the civil service are picked for political reasons, to what do they become loyal, and to what are they no longer loyal?
Remember!
Now, let’s commit this term to our long-term memory. On a scrap piece of paper, take 10 or 20 seconds to draw civil service! Draw with symbols or stick figures if you wish. Nothing fancy. Don’t expect a masterpiece. No one else will see this but you. Look at your drawing. That’s all - now it’s downloaded into your memory. Destroy the piece of paper in a most delightful way.