Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Government/Political History/Political Theory

Paper #3

For months now an avid reader Quin of Quintessential Havoc (go to blogroll it is an insightful and well done blog) and I have been bitching about bureaucrats and their influence on most governments….so I sat about to explain bureaucracy and its functions….not one of my more simple of endeavors……

I tried for several days to find an opening for this ……but each time it did not seem to have a good enough hook to catch the imagination of the reader……

Bureaucrats?  Bureaucracy?  What comes to mind when I mention those words….(pause for reflection)…..How about inefficiency?  Or red tape?  Would buck passing enter your mind?  Maybe unfeeling?  Would stupidity do it for you?

We all have an opinion on what a bureaucrat is….the most notable are a/holes, lazy, do-dahs……but there is a real honest to God definition of bureaucracy…..

There are a number of different meanings….1) a system of administration carried out on a continuous basis by trained professionals, 2) a system of government  where leading executive positions are filled by professional administrators……

No matter which one is your favorite…the very mention of bureaucracy sends chills down most people’s spine……bureaucracy is an endless stream of meetings and order…though both are extremely inefficient…the bureaucrat when faced with a dilemna the answer will be that the rules were not followed or that the proper paperwork was not submitted…it is NEVER the fault of the bureaucrat…..

Personnel changes, like when the new Pres comes in, never changes the bureaucracy, if anything the new admin will adopt to the bureaucracy….just look at the Obama Admin….a prime example…..then tampering with the budget of a bureaucracy seldom changes anything at all….a cut in the budget will bring about cuts in much needed programs…not in the personnel make-up….and then if we throw money at the bureaucracy….nothing change….the money will be spent on raises, enlarged staff, studies, commissions, consultants and more do-dahs….

Mediocrity is the rule of a bureaucrat, they are not conscientious or make no sacrifices or for that matter, they are not particularly innovative ….but the one characteristic that they all possess is loyalty….but that is not particularly a good thing…rather it is self-preservation…..for the one thing that is important to the bureaucrat is their longevity…..

But can bureaucracy ever be controlled?

So they say….but you decide……

The elitist say that role of political leadership and advocate a design to secure political of the bureaucracy; this includes the appointing of top executive positions…..and then there are theorists who believe in open government and advocate the open access to government documents and information…..the participatory theorist looks at the need for participation on the local level on the grounds that the character of policy cannot be separated from the manner of its execution…..

The bad news is that if representative form of democracy or government to work properly then a massive amounts of administrators (bureaucrats) is needed and then when the legislative branch becomes more dysfunctional the more bureaucrats are needed to make the government work……

So the bottom line is…if there is an accurate way to control and make a bureaucracy more efficient it is not known or the person is keeping it to myself…..there is lots of talk about the control….but none of it seems to work….why?…..because those that would make it work are part of the problem…the bureaucracy….a conundrum that has NO answer short of a total replacement of the system we have……and that is not an answer either….why?…..all systems need a degree of bureaucracy to succeed…the conundrum continues…..

Note:  Paper #4  will be on Participatory Democracy—I know the suspense will be almost intolerable but stay tuned….