This is a problem in all organizations, not just governments. Few things predict failure better than an environment where criticism and negative feedback are su

This is a problem in all organizations, not just governments. Few things predict failure better than an environment where criticism and negative feedback are suppressed, often because it's seen as not nice, or uncivilized. I've seen startups fail because big problems were readily visible and understood by most of the staff, but people were terrified to talk about them. By the time people were aware of how widely shared the suppressed opinions had spread, the damage was done. Just this week, I talked with employees of another high profile startup that claim they are heading in the very same direction, because discussing the technical problems in their platform leads to social ostracism. It's not as if there's only one way to et into an unsafe culture: I have seen situations where people were intimidated by using abusive, aggressive behavior, and others where the same things were accomplished through smiles and backstabbing. If you are leading a startup and you don't see dissent in your organization, beware, because what it means is that it's been forced to go underground. So yes, we should learn from imperial japan that every organization needs ways for people to safely and politely express unpopular, honest opinions.