Chapter 10: Civil Service Systems: Spoils and Merit

The criteria for recruiting public officials is a key factor in determining the democracy and professionalism of the administration.

---

1. Spoils System

The practice of appointing public officials based on political loyalty or contribution.

• Pros: Strengthens democratic control (reflects election results), develops party politics, ensures administrative accountability.
• Cons: Lowers administrative professionalism, induces corruption, undermines administrative continuity and neutrality.

---

2. Merit System

The practice of recruiting officials based on individual ability, qualifications, and performance. The Pendleton Act (1883) in the U.S. is the cornerstone of the modern merit system.

• Pros: Ensures professionalism and neutrality, guarantees equality of opportunity, provides job security.
• Cons: Can lead to institutional rigidity, lowers political responsiveness (officials may become a privileged class).

---

3. Career Civil Service

A system that recruits young, healthy talents and allows them to dedicate their entire lives to public service.

• Requirements: Established merit system, closed-entry recruitment, rank-in-person orientation, high job security.

---

4. Representative Bureaucracy

A system that recruits officials in a way that reflects the demographic composition of society to address the limits of the merit system, which may exclude the socially disadvantaged. (e.g., gender quotas, mandatory employment for disabled persons).

Feature	Merit System	Representative Bureaucracy
Core Value	Efficiency, Individual ability	Equity, Social representation
Recruitment Criteria	Test scores	Background, Quota systems
Criticism	May fix social inequality	Reverse discrimination, potential drop in efficiency

---

Key Checklist

• Which system appoints officials based on their political support to promote the development of party politics? (Answer: Spoils System)
• Which system seeks to overcome the limits of the merit system and increase the social representation of the bureaucracy? (Answer: Representative Bureaucracy)
• Which U.S. act served as the catalyst for the introduction of the modern merit system? (Answer: Pendleton Act)

---