Robodebt, Kafka and institutional absurdism in Australia
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Published:2023-10-31
Issue:4
Volume:48
Page:299-302
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ISSN:1037-969X
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Container-title:Alternative Law Journal
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Alternative Law Journal
Affiliation:
1. Independent researcher, Australia
Abstract
The report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme was published in July 2023. It found that the scheme was a ‘costly failure of public administration, in both human and economic terms’. The Trial by Franz Kafka is a seminal literary metaphor for how bureaucracy can give way to corruption and dystopia. In a brief parallel reading, I show how the findings made by Commissioner Holmes conform with Kafka's blueprint of an absurd bureaucratic machine. I also explore some broader implications of this argument.
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Subject
Law,Sociology and Political Science