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Hi, I'm Craig, and this is Crash Course Government and Politics.
嗨，我是克雷格，这是《政府和政治速成课》。
and today, we're gonna talk about bureaucracies, just as soon as I finish filling out these forms.
今天，我们要谈谈官僚机构，稍等我填完这些表格。
Do I really have to initial here, here, and here on all three copies, Stan?
我真的必须在这三个副本上分别在这里、这里和这里签名吗，斯坦?
Regulations say so? All right.
规定这样说?好吧。
I'm just kidding.
我只是在开玩笑。
I don't really have to fill out forms in triplicate in order to make an episode of Crash Course, but this kind of stuff is one of the main reasons that people don't like bureaucracies.
我真的不需要为了拍一集《速成班》而填三份表格，但这类东西是人们不喜欢官僚机构的主要原因之一。
Americans tend to associate them with incomprehensible rules and time-wasting procedures and probably most annoying - actual bureaucrats.
美国人往往把它们与难以理解的规则和浪费时间的程序联系在一起，也许最让人讨厌的是真正的官僚。
But bureaucracies are a lot like our extended families, in that we largely don't understand, or at least don't appreciate,
但官僚机构很像我们的大家庭，我们基本上不理解，或者至少不欣赏，
the important role that bureaucracies play in our lives, mainly because of all the forms, and because my cousin who always ate all the cookies from the jar at Grandma's house.
官僚机构在我们的生活中扮演着重要的角色，这主要是因为各种各样的形式，也因为我的表弟总是吃奶奶家罐子里所有的饼干。
So what exactly IS a bureaucracy?
那么，官僚主义到底是什么?
I don't like to do this, because I'm arrogant and lazy, but sometimes it's helpful to go to a dictionary when you need to find out what a word means.
我不喜欢这样做，因为我傲慢和懒惰，但有时当你需要知道一个单词的意思时，查字典是有帮助的。
So here's a serviceable, political science-y definition:
这是一个有用的，政治科学的定义:
“A bureaucracy is a complex structure of offices, tasks, rules, and principles of organization that are employed by all large scale institutions to coordinate the work of their personnel.”;
“科层制是由办公室、任务、规则和组织原则组成的复杂结构，所有大型机构都使用这些结构来协调其人员的工作。”
Two points to emphasize here:
这里需要强调两点：
First, bureaucracies are made up of experts who usually know more about the topic at hand than you do and who are able to divide up complex tasks so that they can get done.
首先，官僚机构是由专家组成的，他们通常比你更了解手头的话题，他们能够把复杂的任务分解开来，以便完成任务。
Second, all large scale institutions use bureaucracies, so the distinction between big business and big government is, in at least this respect, bogus, or what I like to call a false dichotomy.
其次，所有大型机构都使用官僚机构，所以大企业和大政府之间的区别，至少在这方面，是虚假的，或者我喜欢称之为错误的二分法。
Is that too pretentious to say “false dichotomy”, Stan?
斯坦，说“错误的二分法”是不是太自命不凡了?
I don't care, I'm saying it.
我不在乎，我只是说说而已。
False dichotomy!
错误的二分法!
So if people hate bureaucracies so much and compare them unfavorably with Google and Amazon, why do we have them?
所以，如果人们如此憎恨官僚机构，并将它们与谷歌和亚马逊进行不适当的比较，我们为什么要拥有它们呢?
Well, the main reason is that bureaucracies are efficient.
主要原因是官僚机构效率高。
They make it easier for governments to accomplish tasks quickly and to basically operate at all.
可以使政府更容易迅速完成任务，并进行基本运作。
In the US, federal bureaucrats fulfill a number of specific important functions.
在美国，联邦官员履行着许多具体的重要职能。
One, bureaucrats implement the laws that Congress writes.
第一，官僚们执行国会制定的法律。
Have you ever read a law? They're pretty complicated.
你读过法律吗?他们很复杂。
It's a good idea to have experts who can interpret them and put them into action.
有能解读这些法律并将其投入实践的专家是一件好事。
Two, bureaucrats also make and enforce their own rules.
第二，官僚们也制定和执行他们自己的规则。
But this isn't as action hero-ish as it sounds.
但这并不像听起来那么像英雄做的行为。
And three, they settle disputes through a process called administrative adjudication, which makes them kind of like courts.
第三，他们通过一种叫做行政裁决的程序来解决争端，这使得他们有点像法院。
Now, since I know that all of you have been paying extremely close attention to these episodes, you know that at least two of those functions are problematic in ways that go beyond making rules that seem Byzantine or stupid or both - Byzantupid.
现在，因为我知道你们所有人都在密切关注这些事件，你们知道这些功能中至少有两个是有问题的，超出了制定看起来错综复杂或愚蠢或两者兼而有之的规则的范围。
The big concern here is the separation of powers, which you remember is the idea that power is divided between three branches of government.
这里最令人担忧的是权力分立，你们应该还记得，权力被分为三个政府部门。
Technically the federal bureaucracy is part of the executive branch, but it's so big that it dwarfs the other two branches and can easily overpower them, much like I overpower this eagle.
从技术上讲，联邦官僚机构是行政部门的一部分，但它太大了，使其他两个部门相形见绌，可以轻易地凌驾于它们之上，就像我凌驾于这只鹰一样。
“That's right eagle. I make my own rules, like a bureaucracy.”
“这是正确的鹰。我制定自己的规则，就像官僚机构一样。”
But an even more troubling, to some people, aspect of bureaucracies is what they actually do.
但对一些人来说，更令人不安的是，官僚体制的一个方面是他们实际上在做什么。
So let's go to the Thought Bubble.
让我们进入思想泡泡。
Bureaucracies don't just enforce the rules; they make new ones called regulations.
官僚机构不只是执行规则；他们制定了新的法规。
In doing this, they're acting like a legislature, especially since the rules have the force of law and people can be punished for breaking them.
这样做，他们就像一个立法机构，特别是因为规则具有法律效力，人们可以因为违反规则而受到惩罚。
For example, if you say ”Sticks” on TV, the FCC can fine you, just like the local law enforcement would if you broke a state law against speeding.
例如，如果你在电视上说“坚持”，联邦通信委员会可以罚款你，就像如果你违反了州法律禁止超速行驶，地方执法机构会罚款一样。
And don't say ”Sticks” to the cop.
不要对警察说“棒”。
But according to the Constitution, Congress is supposed to make the laws, so if you're a constitutional formalist, this is going to give you fits.
但是根据宪法，国会应该制定法律，所以如果你是一个宪法形式主义者，这会让你感到不适。
On the other hand, the rule making process allows for a degree of popular participation that goes way beyond what happens in Congress.
另一方面，制定规则的过程允许一定程度的公众参与，这远远超出了在国会发生的事情。
In 2014, Congress called for the mandatory notice and comment period on new FCC rules on the issue of net neutrality.
2014年，国会要求对联邦通信委员会关于网络中立性问题的新规定进行强制通知和评论。
Any person can read the proposed rules which are not easy to understand and offer a public comment, including suggestions for new rules using the internet.
任何人都可以阅读拟议的规则，这些规则不容易理解，并提供公众意见，包括建议使用互联网的新规则。
The bureaucracy is required to read the comments and they could be incorporated into the final rules that are published in the federal register.
政府机构被要求阅读这些评论，这些评论可能会被纳入联邦公报公布的最终规则。
So in a way, federal rule-making is more democratic than congressional law-making, but it's still not in the constitution.
所以在某种程度上，联邦立法比国会立法更民主，但它仍然不在宪法中。
Administrative adjudication raises similar separation of powers issues,
行政审判也提出了类似的三权分立问题，
but they're less problematic because the constitution gives congress the right to establish courts other than the Supreme Court
但是他们的问题不大，因为宪法赋予国会设立最高法院以外的法院的权利
and it doesn't say that these can't be administrative tribunals that are part of bureaucratic agencies.
它并没有说这些不能是属于官僚机构的行政法庭。
Many low level bureaucratic positions are filled through competitive exam-based civil service procedures which are supposed to ensure a level of expertise and take politics out of the staffing process.
许多低级别官僚职位是通过竞争性考试的公务员制度程序填补的，这些程序应确保一定的专门知识水平，并将政治因素排除在任用过程之外。
But many upper level bureaucratic leaders especially cabinet secretaries and also ambassadors are very political.
但许多高层官僚领导人，尤其是内阁部长和大使都非常政治化。
For one thing, they're appointed by politicians who may be repaying favors or trying to pack the agencies with like-minded favorites.
首先，他们是由政客任命的，这些政客可能是在报答恩惠，或者试图让这些机构中有志同道合的人。
For another, bureaucrats engage in bargaining and protect their own interests, the very thing that politicians do all the time.
另一方面，官僚们参与谈判，保护自己的利益，这正是政客们一直在做的事情。
Thanks Thought Bubble.
谢谢思想泡泡。
So the first reason we keep bureaucracies is because bureaucracies are useful.
所以我们保留官僚制度的第一个原因是因为官僚制度是有用的。
They do get things done even though it might not be as quickly as we'd like.
他们确实能把事情做好，尽管可能没有我们想的那么快。
And some of these things are things we want done, like inspecting our meat so we don't get E. coli or Salmonella or Mad Cow Disease.
有些事情是我们想做的，比如检查我们的肉类，这样我们就不会感染大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌或疯牛病。
One response to this that we'll talk about later is to get rid of public bureaucracies and contract their tasks out to private companies.
对此我们稍后会谈到的一种回应是摆脱公共官僚机构并将其任务外包给私营公司。
There's something to be said to this.
有话要说。
After all, in a lot of ways UPS does a better job of getting packages to us than the postal service does.
毕竟，UPS在很多方面都比邮电业做得更好。
And I also have a lot more fun at the private bowling alley than the public one.
我也在私人保龄球馆觉得比公共保龄球馆快乐得多。
There's no such thing as a public bowling alley.
没有公共保龄球馆这种东西。
If there is, I'm going.
如果有，我就去。
Might be free.
可能是免费的。
But the main argument for privatization seems to be cost.
但私有化的主要理由似乎是成本。
And that one might not always be true.
这一点可能并不总是正确的。
It seems unlikely that a private corporation would spring up to inspect meat.
一家私人公司似乎不太可能突然冒出来检查肉类。
And although we can rely on pricing to signal that our chicken wings are salmonella free, I don't think it's a good idea.
虽然我们可以依靠价格来表明我们的鸡翅是没有沙门氏菌的，但我认为这不是个好主意。
So in addition to being useful and filling roles that the private sector might not fill,
因此，除了有用和填补私营部门可能无法填补的角色之外，
one of the reasons we have so many bureaucracies is because Congress keeps making them and delegating power to them.
我们有这么多官僚机构，其中一个原因是国会一直在制定和授权这些机构。
If we didn't have bureaucracy, Congressmen and their staff would be taking on all the oversight and enforcement of their own laws.
如果我们没有官僚机构，国会议员和他们的工作人员将承担起监督和执行他们自己法律的全部责任。
In addition to creating its own separation of powers problem, this might be kind of chaotic, considering that potentially the entire House of Representatives could be replaced every two years.
除了创造自己的三权分立问题，整个众议院可能每两年更换一次，从这方面考虑可能有点混乱。
One advantage of bureaucracies is a certain amount of stability in the built-up expertise that comes with it.
官僚体制的一个优点是，它所带来的积累起来的专业知识具有一定的稳定性。
Probably the main reason why we don't change bureaucracies though is that doing so is really difficult.
也许我们不改变官僚体制的主要原因是这样做真的很难。
Once Congress makes a bureaucracy it's usually permanent for a number of practical and political reasons.
一旦国会设立了一个官僚机构，出于一些实际和政治原因，它通常是永久性的。
We'll get into those reasons next time.
我们下次会详细讨论这些原因。
So I'm going to wrap this up with a little bit of a reminder about Federalism, based on a largely unwarranted assertion.
因此，我将以一个关于联邦制的小提醒来结束这一切，这个提醒基于一个基本没有根据的论断。
I bet that if you ask most Americans to give an example of a bureaucracy they will say the DMV.
我敢打赌，如果你让大多数美国人举一个官僚主义的例子，他们会说是车辆管理局。
Most people will tell you a DMV horror story of the time they had to wait in line for four hours just to renew their license
大多数人会告诉你一个车管所的恐怖故事，他们不得不排四个小时的队，只是为了更新他们的许可证
and when they got to the counter a clerk told them that they didn't have the right forms and they needed to post a money order,
当他们走到柜台时，一个职员告诉他们没有正确的表格，他们需要寄一张汇款单，
and not a credit card or a check or even cash and that anyway they had to go on break
没有信用卡，没有支票，甚至没有现金，反正无论如何他们得休息一下
and I had to come back in fifteen minutes and all I wanted was my license-- AAAAAAH the DMV!
我必须在15分钟内回来，我只想要我的驾照——啊啊啊啊啊啊车辆管理局
And I sympathize with this predicament but I feel the need to remind anyone who has had this experience at the DMV, that it's a state bureaucracy, not the federal bureaucracy.
我同情这种困境，但我觉得有必要提醒任何在车管所有过这种经历的人，这是一个州的官僚机构，不是联邦的官僚机构。
Most of the bureaucrats you meet in your daily life: teachers, policeman, tax assessors are officials of your state government, not the federal government, like Bureaucrat Jimmy.
你在日常生活中遇到的大多数官僚:老师、警察、税务员都是你所在州的政府官员，而不是像吉米那样的联邦政府官员。
Which is pretty much what the Framers intended.
这也是制宪者的初衷。
So it's a good idea to be thoughtful about which government we're going to transfer our anger towards and to rage against the correct machine.
因此，考虑一下我们将把愤怒转移到哪个政府部门，并找对出口表达愤怒，这是一个好主意。
That's what federalism's all about.
这就是联邦制的意义所在。
Thanks for watching.
感谢收看。
I'll see you next week.
下周见。
Crash Course Government and Politics is produced in association with PBS Digital Studios.
政府与政治速成班是与PBS数字工作室联合制作的。
Support for Crash Course US Government comes from Voqal.
美国政府对速成课程的支持来自Voqal。
Voqal supports non-profits that use technology and media to advance social equity.
Voqal支持利用技术和媒体促进社会公平的非营利组织。
Learn more about their mission and initiatives at voqual.org.
更多关于他们的使命和倡议，请访问voqual.org。
Crash Course was made with the help of these soulless bureaucrats.
速成班是在这些没有灵魂的官僚的帮助下开办的。
Thanks for watching.
谢谢收看。
