Effective organizations have official policies; members who act against those policies in important ways while on duty rapidly stop being part of the organization. Different departments and organizations within the government formulate and carry out policies on different issues, sometimes clashing with each other… but that’s not entirely dissimilar to a person suffering internal conflicts when e.g. meal planning and libido point in opposite directions.
I would be interested to know if there is a research on the subject. It does not seem unreasonable that organizations have utility functions different from its individual members. After all, that’s how bee hives and ant colonies work.
Treating “the government” as anything like a unified agent for whom one can define self-interest or a utility function is problematic.
Effective organizations have official policies; members who act against those policies in important ways while on duty rapidly stop being part of the organization. Different departments and organizations within the government formulate and carry out policies on different issues, sometimes clashing with each other… but that’s not entirely dissimilar to a person suffering internal conflicts when e.g. meal planning and libido point in opposite directions.
I would be interested to know if there is a research on the subject. It does not seem unreasonable that organizations have utility functions different from its individual members. After all, that’s how bee hives and ant colonies work.
Kin groups with millions of years of natural selection aren’t really the same.
Maybe, or maybe not. Like I said, I’d be interested in seeing the relevant research.