PARKINSON’S LAW.

PARKINSON’S LAW. Kids, you should know Parkinson’s Law, actually Parkinson’s First Law, which was more famous in the sixties than it is now. Instapundit at 10:31 yesterday morning linked to this excellent explanation of Parkinson’s Law and Robert Conquest’s Third Law. I urge you to read the entire article. (The article comes from an interesting blog which featured yesterday a good description with useful diagrams of the writer’s best game of chess). Parkinson’s First Law is: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” Robert Conquest’s Third Law is: “The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.” Robert Conquest was a poet and scholar who in 1968 published a history of Soviet terror which was met with severe criticism. The opening of the Soviet archives supported Conquest. Michael Ignatieff is quoted in the Wikipedia article as saying “‘One of the few unalloyed pleasures of old age is living long enough to see yourself vindicated. Robert Conquest is currently enjoying this pleasure.'” Be sure to note in the next to last paragraph of the Wikipedia article the obscene title that Kingsley Amis suggested for Conquest’s revised edition of his book.