Bureaucracy 2

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The Iron Law of Oligarchy

Weber was primarily concerned with the relationship between bureaucracy and democracy.
Is his concern a legitimate one?
Oligarchy - Any form of government in which there is ?rule by a few?; for example, by members of a self-regulating élite having domination over a larger society. (Marshall, G., Oxford dictionary of Sociology,1998)
Roberto Michels (1967) Refers to Oligarchy as the loss of power from the bottom to the top.
Roberto Michels

According to Michels this flow of power from the bottom to the top is an inevitable part of an increasingly bureaucratized world - Iron law.
Michels argues that organizations are essential for democracy but at the same time they guarantee its demise.
They are necessary to ensure that all voices are heard but it is also impossible for a large number of people to run an organization.
Michel Foucault

Looks like Foucault was correct in terms of " Surveillance in modern societies".
According to Lyon 1994 we live in a surveillance society. A society in which all types of information is gathered by all types of organisations.
Dates of Birth - schools - Jobs - Tax information - IC - Driving Licenses.
A country with a population of 26 million, where the government operated 2,200 data bases, containing on average 20 files on each individual. 10% have their names on police databases. ______________
Democracy

Defined as ?rule by the people? .
It is also a widely contested concept within academia.
Used by many as a term to legitimize.
For Marxists the only real democracy is that which takes place in the absence of private property.
Before true Communism a proletarian democracy can be achieved by the ?dictatorship of the proletariat?. Policy making body is composed by every member of society.
According to Liberals, Private property is central to democracy because all people should be free to own private property.
Weber can be categorized in his political sociology as a liberal, and an elite pluralist.
Democratization is closely linked to bureaucratization, the modern state, Industrialisation and capitalism in general.
Democratization replaces rule by Kings, Emperors, Tzars, Sultans etc?
Achieved status has now replaced ascribed status.
Max Weber?s Concern

Fear of rule by faceless bureaucrats, is what Weber fears.
This situation would result because of the modern forms of organisations and information control.
"How can democracy survive in the face of increasing power bureaucratic organisations are wielding over us?" This is Weber?s concern according to Giddens.
The alienating effect of bureaucracy on those who worked within them. Bureaucratic ritualism.
Bureaucrats and politicians

Bureaucrats are actually servants of the government.
The fact that their (bureaucrats) positions are stable and they have expert knowledge gives them a large power base.
Politicians who are there to check on bureaucratic power are also heavily dependent on them.
Weber believed it was essential that bureaucracy be subject to strong controls in order to ensure openness and transparency.
Weber?s concerns were not entirely misplaced.
In Communist countries, such as Russia, enormous bureaucracies were formed to administer a centrally planed economy and network of social services.
Bureaucracy 2 cont...

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