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Regarding the typists: 1. The author was born in 1930 and probably did have a secretarial pool to handle transcribing his notes into typewritten pages for publ

Regarding the typists: 1. The author was born in 1930 and probably did have a secretarial pool to handle transcribing his notes into typewritten pages for publication. 2. Roenxi, I don't know where you are from, but you could check into how people are at the mercy of bureaucrats in the Department of Motor Vehicles in the USA if you want a similar complaint to being at the mercy of low paid, low-skilled workers with bosses that don't report to you. You might also check into Kafka. He is pretty much famous for describing the problem.

brookst 2mo ago
While I dearly love Kafka, I am not sure it’s correct to look at him as a documentarian of realistic social behaviors.
malfist 2mo ago
There's a big difference between being at the mercy of government bureaucrats and what is described here, which is being at the mercy of an employee acting above his station (paraphrasing the author).
- voakbasda 2mo ago
  Are you familiar with our employment laws? Firing someone can cause the bureaucracy to be involved.
  - malfist 2mo ago
    There is exactly one state in the US that does not have at will employment.
    - voakbasda 2mo ago
      That is not the only employment law. Firing someone translates to a higher likelihood that they will seek revenge, and it is trivial to get the state to accomplish that (e.g. filing a false claim). This potential liability causes a lot of side effects, such as refusing to give references to former employees. Or ever asking any personal questions about any topics surrounding protected status.
- readthenotes1 1mo ago
  I do not believe there is much of a difference between being at the mercy of a government bureaucrat and being at the mercy of another bureaucrat. I think one of the key things you and the original objector miss is that the typists were usually not under direct administrative control by the people using them. Instead, there was a side bureaucracy that hired and fired them. They could generally behave with impunity as long as they were following the rules as written and had the support of their own management.

brookst 2mo ago

While I dearly love Kafka, I am not sure it’s correct to look at him as a documentarian of realistic social behaviors.

malfist 2mo ago

There's a big difference between being at the mercy of government bureaucrats and what is described here, which is being at the mercy of an employee acting above his station (paraphrasing the author).

voakbasda 2mo ago
Are you familiar with our employment laws? Firing someone can cause the bureaucracy to be involved.
- malfist 2mo ago
  There is exactly one state in the US that does not have at will employment.
  - voakbasda 2mo ago
    That is not the only employment law. Firing someone translates to a higher likelihood that they will seek revenge, and it is trivial to get the state to accomplish that (e.g. filing a false claim). This potential liability causes a lot of side effects, such as refusing to give references to former employees. Or ever asking any personal questions about any topics surrounding protected status.
readthenotes1 1mo ago
I do not believe there is much of a difference between being at the mercy of a government bureaucrat and being at the mercy of another bureaucrat. I think one of the key things you and the original objector miss is that the typists were usually not under direct administrative control by the people using them. Instead, there was a side bureaucracy that hired and fired them. They could generally behave with impunity as long as they were following the rules as written and had the support of their own management.