Buck passing
Buck passing, or passing the buck, or sometimes (playing) the blame game, is the act of attributing to another person or group one's own responsibility. It is often used to refer to a strategy in power politics whereby a state tries to get another state to deter or fight an aggressor state while it remains on the sidelines.[1]
Etymology
The expression is said to have originated from
In international relations
Passing the buck in
- The delay in forming a balancing coalition against Napoleon until 1813[3]
- The refusal of the United Kingdom, United States, France, and/or the Soviet Union to confront Nazi Germany effectively in the 1930s. With the Munich Agreement, France and the United Kingdom passed the buck to the Soviet Union, which then avoided armed confrontation by signing the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.[4]
- The failure of European great powers to balance against Bismarck as he unified Germany.[3]
Similarly, Mearsheimer argues that the delay of the
"The buck stops here"
"The buck stops here" is a phrase that was popularized by
President Jimmy Carter arranged to borrow the sign from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum.[8] Footage from Carter's "Address to the Nation on Energy"[9] shows the sign on the desk during his administration.
The reverse of the sign reads, "I'm from Missouri."[6] This is a reference to Truman's home state as well as Willard Duncan Vandiver's statement: "I'm from Missouri. You've got to show me."
On January 10, 2019, 19 days into a federal government shutdown, a reporter asked President Donald Trump if "the buck stops with you over this shutdown." Trump responded with "The buck stops with everybody."[10]
In 2019, in his first speech as
In 2021, U.S. President
See also
- Button (poker) – Marker used to signal the dealer or last player in poker
- Bystander effect – Social psychological theory
- Command responsibility – Doctrine of hierarchical accountability
- Outsourcing – Contracting formerly internal tasks to an external organization
- Peter principle – Management concept by Laurence J. Peter
- Scapegoat – Animal which is ritually burdened
- Somebody else's problem – Dismissive figure of speech
- Tragedy of the commons – Self-interests causing depletion of a shared resource
References
- ISBN 9780393076240.
- ^ Mitford M. Mathews, ed., A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1951), I, pp. 198–99.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-393-34927-6.
- ^ S2CID 18700052. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 7, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
- ISBN 9780393076240.
- ^ a b ""The Buck Stops Here" Desk sign". Truman Library.
- ^ Jan R. Van Meter, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too: Famous Slogans and Catchphrases in American History.
- ^ "'Buck Stops Here' To Be Sign of Carter". The New York Times. 6 February 1977. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ President Jimmy Carter – Address to the Nation on Energy. YouTube. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
- ^ "President Trump: 'The buck stops with everybody' | The Week".
- ^ "Boris Johnson: First speech as PM in full". BBC News. 2019-07-24. Archived from the original on 2019-08-25.
- ^ "New PM Johnson's arrival speech in Downing Street". Reuters. 2019-07-25. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17.
- ^ "Remarks by President Biden on Afghanistan". White House. 2021-08-16. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17.
- ^ "Full Transcript of President Biden's Remarks on Afghanistan". The New York Times. 2021-08-16. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17.