In writing the book The Peter Principle, I feel Dr. Laurence Peter may have overlooked the consequences of such a depressing view of human society. Peter tells people that they will undoubtedly rise to failure. Once a person reaches his Final Placement he is inefficient and incompetent. Although he may try to better himself, his efforts are futile and he will be trapped at that miserable level of incompetence for the rest of his employed life. The only possible gains Peter lists for those who try to become competent in their Final Placement, are a plethora of medical disorders associated with overworking and its emotional coefficients from realizing they are no longer, and never will again, be a useful members of society. In this instance, ignorance (of one's own incompetence) truly is bliss. This is the only book I have read in which study and goals for self-improvement have a negative connotation. This book leads me to question all that I have been taught and held true for the past seventeen years. Maybe I, like so many of the well-documented cases in the book, have reached my level of incompetence. I have begun to display some of the medical problems linked with Final Placement, not to mention the way I work diligently and never seem to be able to get ahead. Maybe I should stand idle in my level of incompetence before I develop more medical complications from my wasted efforts. .
The evidence provided by Peter is quite convincing and does accurately describe the reasons we have inept leaders like President George W. Bush running our inefficient society. The laws of the hierarchy hold those of us who are still at a competent level of employment below those who have reached their Final Placement, because there is nowhere for the unproductive employees to go. So the incompetent worker will cause society to stagnate until a competent worker is able to circumambulate to his level of incompetence and the entire cycle will begin anew.
