The Utopia of Regulations: The Iron Law of Liberalism and Bureaucracy

This essay examines the paradoxes of contemporary administration through the lens of David Graeber's "iron law of liberalism." The author examines why attempts at deregulation and free-market reform inevitably lead to the growth of bureaucracy and the proliferation of new regulations. The text deconstructs the notion of the utopia of regulations, pointing to the structural violence and "imaginative blind spots" that prevent us from perceiving the human dimension in formal systems. By juxtaposing the perspectives of an anthropologist, a journalist, and a spin doctor, the article reveals the mechanisms of auditocracy and re-standardization that dominate modern power structures. It is a profound reflection on the cognitive costs of compliance and the interpretive power that shapes our everyday lives in a world dominated by procedures.