AEI Resurrects Mid-Century Classic Praising Government Efficiency—But What Are They Really Selling?

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) recently announced the revival of a decades-out-of-print book, Government Project by Edward C. Banfield, a social scientist whose work dates back to the mid-20th century. AEI’s Kevin Kosar, who partnered on the reissue, gushes over the book’s “brilliance and wisdom,” claiming it offers timeless lessons on government administration.

At first glance, this might seem like a harmless academic exercise. But the timing and framing raise red flags. Banfield’s 1951 work emerged in a very different era—long before the Trump administration’s aggressive use of executive orders to bypass Congress, dismantle agencies, and erode civil rights protections. The book’s emphasis on “efficient” government projects risks being co-opted as intellectual cover for authoritarian tactics that concentrate power in the executive branch without democratic oversight.

Kosar’s own admission that the book was “exceedingly difficult to find” until now suggests AEI’s revival is less about rediscovering lost wisdom and more about repackaging ideas that support centralized, unchecked government control. This fits into a broader pattern where right-wing think tanks mine history selectively to legitimize attacks on democratic norms and civil liberties.

We should be wary when institutions like AEI champion “government efficiency” without addressing the dangers of authoritarian overreach. Efficiency is meaningless if it comes at the cost of transparency, accountability, and the democratic process itself. As Trump’s administration showed, wielding power without checks is a direct threat to the republic.

In short, AEI’s revival of Government Project is not just a nostalgic nod to a forgotten text. It’s a warning sign that the same old ideas about top-down control are being dusted off to justify the very abuses of power we need to resist. We’ll keep tracking how these narratives feed into ongoing struggles over government accountability and democratic integrity.