Why Does the West Have No Civil Service?

In 2011, civil service employment was one of the most popular careers in China; for just the central government alone, there were 140 million people who took the civil service exam. However, in foreign countries the civil service is not the career choice of young people. There are no less than three main reasons for this: treatment of employees, oil-and-water relationships and strict discipline.

The wage of ordinary civil servants in the United States and Europe is not attractive. According to studies of wage records of 183 countries, this author has come to the conclusion that the salaries of foreign countries’ civil servants is not equal to that of China’s civil servants, nor is it equal to the national wage average in each respective country.

According to the United States Government Accountability Office survey, in the United States only 3 percent of college graduates consider becoming civil service members. In 2008, the average annual wage for all employees in the United States was $42,270. For civil servants, the maximum salary was $191,300 while the maximum wage of a surgeon was $206,770; the minimum salary for civil servants was $17,046 while for restaurant servers it was $17,400. The data show that the highest and lowest wages for civil service workers is lower than in the private sector.

Greek dockworkers’ average monthly salary is €8,000. Those who are qualified and experienced can earn up to €10,000 per month and receive up to 14 months of wages per year, which is equivalent pay to that of government leaders. In Norway, the 2008 national average monthly wage was equivalent to 40,047 yuan. The civil service average monthly salary was equal to 38,577 yuan, while the average was 40,589 yuan in the private sector. Veteran state workers’ wages were barely twice that of an apprentice, and the salaries of civil servants were 5 percent lower than the average private sector salary.

Foreign public officials spend public funds at startling rates, and they should tread carefully. A few years ago, when a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Finance visited the United States, the U.S. treasury secretary received them by saying, “Congress has only approved spending on food, and they have not approved funds to be spent on drinks. The government will foot the bill for your table, you can thank the American taxpayers for your food, and the wine will be paid for by me.”* This is the “wealth” of the world’s superpower. When they receive foreign guests, they do not even bring out the wine!

There are very strict travel restrictions on civil servants in Denmark. Travel must be done within one day and on hourly subsidies. They must ride the bus rather than take a taxi. Excluding the prime minister, chancellor and parliament members, all civil servants have the same level of transportation and accommodation; when flying they can only sit in economy seats.

Foreign citizens are not keen on the “national test.” The key is to have high standards, accept the supervision of the public, block as many high-priced accommodations and hidden benefits as possible and severely punish any civil servant found breaking these rules.

In Singapore’s civil service disciplinary code, civil servants cannot accept gifts and hospitality from the public, they must report any gifts and pay for gifts worth more than SG$50. Otherwise they may be punished for bribery and corruption, facing five to seven years in prison. Also, up to 40 percent of their pension funds accumulated per month since entry into the civil service may be turned over to the state treasury.

Finnish law states that civil servants who accept gifts exceeding prescribed limits, dinners, travel or honorary titles as bribery are punishable by fines and four years in prison and a lifetime ban on holding a public office position.

In many countries, corruption and theft have similar criminal charges; illegal possession of public or private property has criminal consequences. France’s sentencing of civil servants is 40 percent to three times higher than criminal sentencing of civilians; in Germany, civil servant sentencing is double; Canada’s sentencing rate of civil servants is 0.4 times higher.

The system can model human nature. Foreign government intends to limit civil servants’ wages and benefits, and its purpose is to prevent the influx of a large number of elite civil service workers and instead have them stay in the community to create wealth. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said: “The popularity of civil service is directly correlated with the level with corruption. Youth strive to become civil servants, illustrating that government corruption is very serious.”

*Editor’s note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.