The Nature, Conditions, and Development of Bureaucratic Herrschaft

History of “Bureaucracy”

“Bureaucracy” was published in 1921 in German as part of Economy and Society, and edited by Marianne Weber who apparently vacillated between titling the essay Bürokratie or Bürokratismus. H. H. Gerth translated “Bureaucracy” in the 1930s, and it was published with polishing and commentary by C. Wright Mills in 1946/1947 in From Max Weber. So far as we can tell, this is the first retranslation of Weber’s essay since Gerth and Mills.
The Nature, Conditions, and Development of Bureaucratic Herrschaft
By Max Weber
translated and edited by Benjamin Elbers, Dagmar Waters, and Tony Waters
2014
Chico, California, and Hamburg, Germany

Dagmar Waters, Tony Waters, Bastian Brakensiek, Benjamin Elbers, Carolin Eberhardt, Miriam Franz, Anna Gburzynski, Lisa Jahn, Laura Kurda, Karina Mueller, Philipp Sakuth, Anja Seitz, Maximilian Vohleitner

2013
Lueneburg, Germany

Table of Contents

I. The Specific Functions of the Modern Bureaucracy
1. The Principle of Fixed Competencies
2. The Principle of the Hierarchically Organized Amt
3. The Basis of Modern Public Administration in Written Records
4. Technical Training
5. Compulsory Hours of Labour for Beamte
6. The Fixing of Rules
II. The Position of the Beamte
1. The Amt is a Calling and Profession
2. The Personal Status/Position of the Beamte
i. Beamte Aim to Gain and Enjoy a High Appreciation by People in Power
ii. The Beamte is Nominated by a Higher Authority
iii. Beamte Officialdom is a Lifetime Position
iv. The Beamte Receives Regular Remuneration
v. Beamte are organized into a professional track
III. The Pre-requisites and Side Effects of Bureaucratization
1. Monetary and financial (Development of the Money Economy)
2. The Quantitative Nature of Administrative Tasks
3. Its Qualitative Change
4. The Technical Superiority of the Bureaucratic Order
[a. Acceleration.]
[b. Objectivity/Dispassion]
[c. Predictability]
5. The Concentration of the Means of Administration
6. The Leveling of Economic and Social Difference
IV. The Persistent Character of the Bureaucratic Apparatus
V. The Economic and Social Consequences of Bureaucratization
VI. Bureaucracy’s Authority
[1. Defining of Bureaucracy]
[2. Rulers and Bureaucratic Power]
[3. Bureaucracy and Secrecy]
VII. Development of the rational bureaucratic structure of “Herrschaft”
VIII. The ”Rationalization”of Bildung and Training
IX. Conclusion