Bureaus, departments, and agencies do not die. They seem to last even if the conditions that led to their creation no longer exist.

Bureaus, departments, and agencies do not die. They seem to last even if the conditions that led to their creation no longer exist. What might explain the seeming immortality of agencies and departments? How do the goals of bureaucrats as well as those of the politicians who seek to control them contribute to this phenomenon? Why does the bureaucracy continue to grow even though the public dislikes it so much?