Silly thought: so it's shoehorning evolution into organizations. Regardless of how something is made to replicate itself, it inherently does so because that's what it does. Evolution arises when changes (accidental or not, from some perspective) present opportunities for thriving. It's not a matter of will as it is a matter of fact. I suppose for organizations, regulations and oversight are necessary to prevent evolution towards fulfilling perverse incentives. A bit hard to do when we're dealing with hyacinths, though. Herbicide, anyone?
Pournelle was just another Republican and this is just another political slogan, not an "iron law".
He was also an engineer, which makes it even worse, because it means he has old engineer brain where you decide you know everything about everyone else's fields.
