“Bureaucracy” in “Classical Sociological Theory and Foundations of American Sociology”
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Bureaucracy
“Bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.” – Balzac
NOTE ON SOURCE: This passage is from Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, a collection of Weber’s writings on economy and society, first published after his death in 1921. Parts were translated into English and published as The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations in 1947 by Talcott Parsons. In 1968 a complete English translation was made by Roth and Wittich, under the title Economy and Society. This translation has been reprinted and is the primary source in English today. Parts of the work also found themselves into Runciman’s Weber: Selected Passages, published in 1978.
Introduction – Why this is important and what to look for
This selection is a short piece, in outline form, defining and describing the characteristics of bureaucracy, one of the three legitimating forms of authority. For more on legitimation, read Politics as a Vocation. Think about the institutional connections between bureaucratic authority and rational-formal law, and how both work together to support rational Western capitalism.
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