A civil servant is a non-elected government employee who performs essential functions within federal agencies and departments. Civil servants constitute the permanent workforce of government institutions, maintaining continuity and institutional knowledge across changing administrations. The essays portray civil servants as dedicated professionals whose contributions often go unrecognized by the public despite their critical role in maintaining national infrastructure, security, and services. Throughout the book, civil servants are contrasted with political appointees, highlighting how the former prioritize mission and expertise over political considerations. The stereotype of inefficient, unmotivated government workers that Lewis seeks to subvert fails to capture the reality of these individuals who often possess specialized knowledge and skills crucial to the functioning of democracy in the US.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is described in Who Is Government? as a critical economic statistic that measures the average change over time in prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. According to John Lanchester’s essay “The Number,” the CPI is one of the most important numbers produced by the US government, directly affecting social security payments, food assistance programs, tax brackets, business contracts, court orders, and millions of workers’ salaries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates this figure by collecting data on thousands of items across the country, from specific types of food and housing costs to recreational equipment and healthcare expenses.