Bureaucracy

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Open Bureaucracy vs Bureacracy behind a Screen of Participatory
democracy.

Carrol

^^^^^^^^

CB: Isn't "bureaucracy" a Weberian and not Marxist concept ? "Bureaucracy" is comparable to "middle class" in the damage it has done to the political consciousness of masses of workers and petit bourgeoisie, peasants.

"Office workers" is a more accurate category for some purposes. Sitting at a bureau or desk does not cause some specific political phenomenon to occur.

When a "giant bureaucracy" is mentioned, I get this picture of an enormous collection of people sitting at desks in office buildings. HOWEVER,  it is not this bureau-proletariat of secretaries, clerks, mailboys, receptionists, beancounters, etc. that is the "cratic" , the power in either Russia or the New Deal, or any government. This mass of deskclerks is not the cause of "redtape" or anti-democratic rule from above, as if they took a vote among the vast bureaucracy to exercise its power on major questions before whatever institution with whatever bureaucracy.  "Bureaucracy" is a very misleading concept that is rife in liberal political analysis.

 Perhaps the kernel of truth in this demogogy is the hierarchy in "bureaucracy" . In other words, the bosses of the bureausitters, the "cracy' of the bureaucsitters not the bureausitters en masse.  It's the SMALLNESS of the bureacracy at the top that is the problem. We want a big bureaucracy, in the sense of masses people having the power and control over society and their lives.