the.com/permit
Proof that bureaucracy can outlast the thing it's permitting.
means An official document or formal permission granting the right to do something, usually stamped and often outlasting the project it was issued for.
from From Latin permittere, 'to let through, allow' — per- ('through') plus mittere ('to send'). The same mittere that gives us 'mission' and 'transmit' — the idea of sending something onward, unobstructed. A permit, etymologically, is just paperwork that finally lets your request through the gate.
- origin
- latin permittere, to let pass through
- irony
- often takes longer than the project itself
- parking lots
- the only place a permit feels like power
- renewal fees
- the government's subscription model, pre-netflix