Bureaucracy and Democracy
--> Posted on 2009-08-07 13:29:35 By Monica Arora
Bureaucracy and democracy are often considered antithetical to political system. But at a closer look we fin both democracy and bureaucracy are working together under the guise of undemocratic system. We all have heard that Indian political system has dramatically transformed and one way to look it from the perspective of the role of bureaucracy.
The term bureaucracy traced back to the French word bureau meaning writing table or desk. Bureaucracy thus simply means ‘desk government’. Max Weber the German sociologist was the first social scientist to studied bureaucracy. He developed a typology of authority distinguished between three ‘pure’ types.
1) traditional
2) charismatic
3) legal
Max Weber regarded bureaucracy sustained and sanctified by the purest type of legal authority as the most efficient form of organization which has following characteristics:
1) division of labour
2) fixed tenure
3) hierarchy
4) fixed remuneration
5) neutrality
But as far as democracy is concerned the structural organization of democracy is different from bureaucracy like M.P are elected through electoral process and also elected for period of 5 years. They are accountable towards people. The question need to be asked here ‘Is bureaucracy that is working in India under the guise of democracy? It is the bureaucrats who make all the important policies decisions. To whom the bureaucrats are accountable to? Because of their fixed tenure they may misuse their authority? Bureaucratization which concentrates more power in their hands of is it not against the principle of democracy? Do bureaucrats form such policies which would eliminate mass poverty or inequalities in income? In the end the question which need to be asked here in this way are we heading towards the more centralized and undemocratic system?
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