The key ideas of “The Unaccountability Machine” by Dan Davies. This book explores how modern systems and organizations have developed in ways that make it increasingly difficult to identify who is responsible when things go wrong.
The central concept Davies introduces is the “accountability sink” – systems where decisions are delegated to complex rulebooks or procedures, making it impossible to trace the source of mistakes. When something goes wrong, there’s often no clear person or entity that can be held responsible.