Administrative training is a growth industry, and has developed a philosophy and practice. The philosophy consists of claims about the purposes and results of training which the practice cannot substantiate. Those involved in the ‘industry’ are aware of this, and resist real evaluation of their claims, which consist essentially in using the expansionist philosophy of training to create or justify personal or institutional benefits. The costs of this ‘double‐think’ strategy are not defined. Instead, a special language is deliberately constructed to avoid precise meaning: a form of ‘newspeak’, which reduces the possibilities for effective debate of issues which deserve penetrating reappraisal.