Nicholas Gruen calls it “agonocracy” or rule by strife. It’s a neologism of his own devising. “Government by factions whose views are pre-determined by political advantage, culture war, and party discipline. Politicians, talking heads, and their supporting players in consulting or the bureaucracy are strategic performers seeking outcomes — manipulative effectiveness, not deliberative authority.”
Gruen, one of Australian public policy’s national treasures and one of the few real big-picture thinkers in that space, has a good idea of what he’s talking about after his role in the controversy over a new stadium in Hobart to host an AFL team.
Like all stadia built on the public dime, the project is a costly exercise being pushed by a government that is only interested in winning votes rather than acting in accordance with the public interest.