Good article. I didn't expect to read the whole thing, but I did.
> There’s an increase in focus on assessments (and punishment) after the fact rather than permission to perform an action
A modern variant (also quoted by Grace Hopper, btw) is "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
Was EIC really independent of the government? There's our answer right there: EIC didn't have to ask permission for most of what they did, but they knew they'd be begging forgiveness if it turned out badly. So they didn't need to ask what the ruling class would think, because they went to the same schools.
> There’s an increase in focus on assessments (and punishment) after the fact rather than permission to perform an action
A modern variant (also quoted by Grace Hopper, btw) is "better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."
Was EIC really independent of the government? There's our answer right there: EIC didn't have to ask permission for most of what they did, but they knew they'd be begging forgiveness if it turned out badly. So they didn't need to ask what the ruling class would think, because they went to the same schools.