A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy. Although the term is usually affiliated with
being a member of the government, but it can also refer to a member of a large company
who conducts things according to the exact rules or policies of that company. In a Government
role, a bureaucrat is a public servant structurally devoted to carrying out administrative policy.
Bureaucrats have been described as "mechanic" because they do things according to a routine
and don't let their "intellectual judgement" interfere.
History
The term 'bureaucrat' was first used in print during the French Revolution by the journalist
Fouilloux in the Père Duchesne in 1791, writing that the object most deserving of his disgust
was the bureaucrat, harbinger of a ‘new mode of servitude’.The job of a bureaucrat
has been around for many generations, from Ancient China, the Roman Empire, the church,the
Ottoman Empire to the the kingdoms of Europe. Bureaucrats in the United States originated
when the 13 colonies became a country and got tired of the tyrannical British executive
power.The 13 colonies became united and had systemic changes in long established political
and institutional arrangements which first had to be negotiated in order to begin to
accommodate national administrative capacities to the American people. At the first continental
congress of 1775, the base of American bureaucrats, their purpose, started to develop. Their goal
at the time was to break away from British administrative power and to have their own
administration institutions. Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and many others dealt with most
of the administrative problems that presidents and department heads face today.The efforts
of public officials and organized political groups to enhance popular control of government
inadvertently planted the seeds of modern bureaucratic powers. Early American bureaucrats
had to follow the president's ideals of administrative duties and authorities to the country. Presidents
like Adams and Jefferson assigned bureaucratic spots for the people who had their same political
belief system. Then during the Andrew Jackson era he passed the patronage system for bureaucrats
in getting hired. Bureaucrats would have the job based on their alliance with president
Jackson as oppose to their skills as a bureaucrat. This led to popular resentment of the emerging
administrative independence, specifically of the social privilege associated with agency
staffing and the corruption that were by products of this independence. President James Garfield
did not agree with the patronage system because bureaucrats weren't getting assigned for their
skills or experience. Garfield's ideals led to his assassination by Charles Guiteau for
not receiving a position as a bureaucrat which resulted in the Pendleton Act that replaced
the patronage system in assigning bureaucrats. The Industrial revolution and the expansion
of the country to the west caused more need of bureaucrats on the job. The biggest shift
for bureaucrats was during Franklin Roosevelt presidency when he enacted the New Deal that
brought more bureaucratic jobs in the United States because of bigger government. Then
when the United States entered World War II, high demands of the war needed even more agencies
and bureaucrats. After the war, the number of bureaucrats decreased but still remained
at a higher level than when it first initiated in the United States. The number of bureaucrats
working have not increased after the war and remain around the same numbers today in the
21st century but the influence of bureaucrats has increased much higher after Franklin Roosevelt's
presidency and are recognized as an important part of American government.
Importance in Society Some Americans today would argue that bureaucrats
are not important in society and there’s no need for them; however, we deal with bureaucrats/bureaucratic
settings on a daily basis, such as in schools, hospitals, and our government. Bureaucrats
play a vital role in today’s society, but there are many misunderstandings of a bureaucrat.
Some may think bureaucrats deal with people, but not necessarily directly. They deal more
with cases, to carry out the many decisions made by government. Bureaucrats put government
policy into motion and as a result, the federal bureaucracy has a large impact on policymaking.
One of the roles of the bureaucracy is to make rules that control how laws are executed.
These bureaucrats hold several administrative positions, some of which are positions in
government, managers of a department, and supervisors. These bureaucrats are very knowledgeable
in their society and aim at control and efficiency. They are trained to rely solely on facts.
They do not let their personal beliefs interfere with business. Bureaucrats are very important.
They may influence policies and choose actions that benefit our society. We need bureaucrats
to shape and inform the public. We all have rules to abide by, that require the development
of structure and organizational expectations. An example of a vital role in society would
be: Gov. Policy and laws.
Different types of Bureaucrat Bureaucrats can be split into different categories
based on the system, nationality, and time they come from.
1. Classical Bureaucrat-Someone who starts at a low level of some kind of public work
for the government, and has no opinion of their own, purely following guidelines and
very slowly gaining increasing ranks within the system. This person is not interested
in anything other than getting along his or her life. There is no party affiliation or
personal opinion about the work you do. Tax collectors, Government accountants, Police
officers, Fire Fighters, and Military personal are all considered bureaucrats. This type
of civil or business servant is very important when it first becomes necessary.
2. Chinese Bureaucrat- Also called “Mandarin” which was given to them by the Portuguese
in a letter written from a Portuguese prisoner in China in 1525. Mandarins were used for
about 1,300 years from 605 to 1905. Most high ranking officials were given to nobility and
family members. The Zhou Dynasty is the earliest recording of Chinese bureaucrats. There was
a 9 rank system, each rank having more power than the lower rank. This type of bureaucrat
went on until the Qing Dynasty. These mandarins worked for the various emperors’ government.
After 1905 the Mandarins were replaced by modern civil servants. In 1921 the communist
party took over China and in theory all people are bureaucrats and work for the government,
but Mao Zedong(In office 1945-1976) ruled with unofficial of a standing army. American
Bureaucrat- 3. American Bureaucrats are different than
other types of Bureaucrats because they are based in a Democratic country. This creates
some unique opportunities. While a bureaucrat is not supposed to fall on party lines, in
the USA they usually do. At different points in history different political parties have
waged entire campaigns against bureaucracy, usually due to protect capitalism and the
free market. Due to the USA’s enormous impact on the global economy after the Industrial
Revolution these Bureaucrats are some of the most important in the world. It is normally
the Democratic Party supporting it. Notable presidents who made vast advancements in Bureaucracy,
and of course created a higher demand for Bureaucrats are Woodrow Wilson, the father
of American bureaucrats, Franklin Roosevelt who had to regulate business’ to an unprecedented
level due the Great Depression caused by the fail of capitalism, and all Democratic presidents
have followed along this trend of governing ever since. Other notable presidents who increased
Bureaucracy are John F. Kennedy(1961-1963) for increasing Civil Rights, Jimmy Carter(in
office 1976-1989) who made sweeping reforms increasing regulation to protect the environment,
Bill Clinton(In office 1992-2000) for creating Affirmative Action to increase equity in different
places of work. Finally Barack Obama(In office 2008-Current) greatly increased the number
of Bureaucratic jobs with his Affordable Health Care for America Act which was passed in 2009,
which caused the government to regulate healthcare. A major opponent of this style of government
was President Ronald Reagan, who believed in the government deregulating everything
related to the economy in, favor of corporations and large business’. In the USA it is illegal
for a bureaucrat to choose political party while on duty.
4. European Bureaucrat- Originally referred to as “Mandarins” stemming from the Chinese
word for government employee. Bureaucracy didn’t catch on in Europe very much due
to the many different governments in the region, and constant change and advancement, and relative
freedom of the upper class. In 1958, though, after the formation of the European Union
the job of the Bureaucrat became extremely important to help organize and govern such
a large and diverse community. In 1961 the term Eurocrat was coined by Richard Mayne,
a journalist at the time. A Eurocrat is a bureaucrat of the European Union.
5. Modern Bureaucrat-Bureaucrats gained increasingly negative reputations throughout the second
half of the 20th century. As populations grow it becomes harder for bureaucratic systems
to work because it often involves a lot of paperwork, which increases processing times,
which eventually will be nearly impossible to manage. The digital age and the Internet
has revolutionized Bureaucrats and the modern Bureaucrat has a different skill set than
before. Also, the internet lowers the corruption levels of some Bureaucratic entities such
as the Police Force due to social media and pro-am journalism.
Notable Bureaucrats and Bureaucratic philosophers German sociologist Max Weber defined a bureaucratic
official as the following: He is personally free and appointed to his
position on the basis of conduct. He exercises the authority delegated to him
in accordance with impersonal rules, and his loyalty is enlisted on behalf of the faithful
execution of his official duties. His appointment and job placement are dependent
upon his technical qualifications. His administrative work is a full-time occupation.
His work is rewarded by a regular salary and prospects of advancement in a lifetime career.
He must exercise his judgment and his skills, but his duty is to place these at the service
of a higher authority. Ultimately he is responsible only for the impartial execution of assigned
tasks and must sacrifice his personal judgment if it runs counter to his official duties.
Bureaucratic control is the use of rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide
performance. It includes such things as budgets, statistical reports, and performance appraisals
to regulate behavior and results. As an academic, Woodrow Wilson(US President)
professed: Franz Kafka(Philosopher/Author)
Franklin D. Roosevelt Hugh S. Johnson(Director of the NRA)
Harry Hopkins Lloyd K. Garrison(First Chair of the National
Labor Relations Board) Thurman Arnold(Assistant Attorney General)
The arts related to Bureaucrat Bartleby, the Scrivener
Bartleby Brazil
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Hermes Conrad
Ikiru The Trial
The Memorandum See also
Apparatchik Civil servant
Mandarin Nomenklatura
References ^ Nelson, M.. A Short, Ironic History of American
National Bureaucracy. Journal Of Politics, 44(3), 747.
^ Nelson, M.. A Short, Ironic History of American National Bureaucracy. Journal Of Politics,
44(3), 747. ^ Nelson, M.. A Short, Ironic History of American
National Bureaucracy. Journal Of Politics, 44(3), 747.
^ Nelson, M.. A Short, Ironic History of American National Bureaucracy. Journal Of Politics,
44(3), 747. ^ Max Weber. Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft.
pp. 650–78. ^ Woodrow Wilson. "The Study of Administration"
2. Political Science Quarterly. pp. 197–222. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
Further reading Haass, Richard N.. The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur:
How to Be Effective in Any Unruly Organization. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. ISBN 0815733534.
Goodsell, Charles T.. The Case for Bureaucracy: a Public Administration Polemic. Washington,
DC: CQ Press. ISBN 1568029071. Hummel, Ralph P.. The Bureaucratic Experience:
the Post-Modern Challenge. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 9780765610102.
External links John Kilcullen, Mq.edu.au, Lecture—Max Weber:
On Bureaucracy Ludwig von Mises, Mises.org, Bureaucracy