Unchecked state autonomy

The word autonarchy was coined by James L. Payne, a USA scholar. He asked: "If rule by the people is democracy, and rule by a king is monarchy, and rule by a single individual is oligarchy, what word describes government that controls itself ?" He suggested "autonarchy".

In an analysis of the testimony of 1,060 witnesses in 14 hearings on proposed federal programmes in the US, only seven opposed proposed spending, a 145-to-1 ratio. Of the witnesses, 63% represented government acting as an interest group. Another 33% were lobbyists for groups purporting to be, and generally perceived to be, private-sector institutions. However, many of these groups are semi-government entities, or extensions of government in that they receive government contracts and grants; often their leaders are former government officials. The fact is that almost no one testifies against government programmes. The conclusion draw is that government views on spending programmes are shaped by government officials themselves.