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# Ministry of Life
- URL: https://www.boldinpublic.com/ministry-of-life/
- Published: 2026-09-02T13:56:45.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-02T13:57:39.000Z
- Author: Milda Aksamitauskas
- Tags: government

I am reading (a more accurate statement is savoring the pages of) a book titled “The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley. I recently discovered a Strands bookstore in New York City, so this is my gift to myself for this September. The plot is that the UK brings a few people from the past (17th \- 19th century) and tries to adapt them to today, explaining the two world wars, internet, cars, airplanes, climate change, etc. Pretty interesting to read how the author explores words, I especially enjoyed the asylum seeker nowadays compared to asylum hospitals in the past. There is way more to the story in the book, but I was thinking about the names of “ministries” or departments/commissions as they are more commonly called in the US.

How do we decide how to name departments? Health, Education, Transportation. There is a lot of disease tracking, testing, asphalt and engineering in these departments, but we do expect names to offer a bolder vision, an outcome or a goal. The book has Ministry of Time as the main these, but there is a mention of a Fear ministry. Outside of books, it is more fashionable to focus on opportunities, workforce, innovation, centers of excellence. Although there are still some laboratories of hygiene (Wisconsin [State Laboratory of Hygiene](https://www.slh.wisc.edu/?ref=boldinpublic.com)) and [community hygiene](https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/division-community-hygiene?ref=boldinpublic.com) and [mental hygiene](https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/about-doh.page?ref=boldinpublic.com) departments left.

When you think about it, names are usually a historical relic. The original decision of what topic gets to be in what department is based on a broad theme and the context/timing. Then overtime small programs and initiatives land somewhat arbitrary. A long time ago, Wisconsin used to have a mega agency that included all health programs, food assistance, employment programs, unemployment insurance, child welfare, and the state prison system. Originally, it started with the health aspect when in 1876 the Board of Health was established and charged to "study the vital statistics of this state, and endeavor to make intelligent and profitable use of the collected records of death and sickness among the people.” Oh, what a play with words. Smart and useful use of collected data. Overtime, the board grew into departments with divisions and later was split up into multiple departments. But at some point in time, there was one person and, more importantly, one budget for everything. You had to reach a compromise among spending money on health, employment training and corrections. And one person accountable to explain the logic in how the budget is allocated. Investing in prevention had to be more visible. It could have been called a Ministry of Life.

Good book, highly recommend.

*References about Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services:*

[*https://doc.wi.gov/Pages/AboutDOC/DepartmentHistory.aspx*](https://doc.wi.gov/Pages/AboutDOC/DepartmentHistory.aspx?ref=boldinpublic.com)

[*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin\_Department\_of\_Health\_Services*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin%5FDepartment%5Fof%5FHealth%5FServices?ref=boldinpublic.com)