Democracy versus Bureaucracy

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews and discusses democracy versus bureaucracy. According to the paper, the democratic principles expressed by those who inspired the founders of the new democracy called the United States of America, had in mind something much different than the series of bureaus that make up our government today. The paper goes on to say how the struggle over power between bureaucracy and democracy has been debated since democracy began.

From the Paper:

"Following World War II, with the example of communism taunting them, people in the United States debated whether the government was run by bureaucratic management or profit-and-loss management in the free market. Ludwig von Mises wrote Bureaucracy in 1944, applying his insight concerning economic calculation and his knowledge of the two sides of the equation. He demonstrated in his book that all types of public administration, when run by amateurs, lack the ability to conduct their affairs in an economically rational manner. But he boiled the debate down to whether Capitalism or Socialism was less detrimental to the welfare of the masses."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Benson, H., (Jan-Feb 2005). Focusing the AFL-CIO debate: Bureaucracy v. Democracy. Union Democracy Review #154. Jan-Feb 2005.Association for Union Democracy.
• Webster, N. (1974). Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. Nashville: The Southwestern Co.
• von Mises, L. (1944). Bureaucracy. Auburn, Alabama: Mises.

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• Book Review # 93308 : "Democracy in America"
• Term Paper # 140207 : "American Political Theory - Democracy and Liberty"

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