Unit Four　Bureaucracy

Modern officialdom functions in the following specific manner:

Ⅰ. There is the principle of fixed and official jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules, that is, by laws or administrative regulations.

1. The regular activities required for the purposes of the bureaucratically governed structure are distributed in a fixed ways as official duties.

2. The authority to give the commands required for the discharge of these duties is distributed in a stable way and is strictly delimited by rules concerning the coercive means, physical, sacerdotal, or otherwise, which may be placed at the disposal of officials.

3. Methodical provision is made for the regular and continuous fulfillment of these duties and for the execution of the corresponding rights; only persons who have the generally regulated qualifications to serve are employed.

In public and lawful government these three elements constitute “bureaucratic authority. ” In private economic domination, they constitute bureaucratic “management. ” Bureaucracy, thus understood, is fully developed in political and ecclesiastical communities only in the modern state, and, in the private economy, only in the most advanced institutions of capitalism. Permanent and public office authority, with fixed jurisdiction, is not the historical rule but rather the exception. This is so even in large political structures such as those of the ancient Orient, the Germanic and Mongolian empires of conquest, or of many feudal structures of state. In all these cases, the ruler executes the most important measures through personal trustees, table-companions, or courtservants. Their commissions and authority are not precisely delimited and are temporarily called into being for each case.

Ⅱ. The principles of office hierarchy and of levels of graded authority mean a firmly ordered system of super and subordination in which there is a supervision of the lower offices by the higher ones. Such a system offers the governed the possibility of appealing the decision of a lower office to its higher authority, in a definitely regulated manner. With the full development of the bureaucratic type, the office hierarchy is monocratically organized. The principle of hierarchical office authority is found in all bureaucratic structures: in state and ecclesiastical structures as well as in large party organizations and private enterprises. It does not matter for the character of bureaucracy whether its authority is called “private” or “public”.

When the principle of jurisdictional “competency” is fully carried through, hierarchical subordination—at least in public office—does not mean that the “higher” authority is simply authorized to take over the business of the “l(fā)ower. ” Indeed, the opposite is the rule. Once established and having fulfilled its task, an office tends to continue in existence and be held by another incumbent.

Ⅲ. The management of the modern office is based upon written documents (“the files”), which are preserved in their original or draught form. There is, therefore, a staff of subaltern officials and scribes of all sorts. The body of officials actively engaged in a “public” office, along with the respective apparatus of material implements and the files, make up a “bureau.” In private enterprise, “the bureau” is often called “the office.”

In principle, the modern organization of the civil service separates the bureau from the private domicile of the official, and, in general, bureaucracy segregates official activity as something distinct from the sphere of private life. Public monies and equipment are divorced from the private property of the official. This condition is everywhere the product of a long development. Nowadays, it is found in public as well as in private enterprises; in the latter, the principle extends even to the leading entrepreneur. In principle, the executive office is separated from the household, business from private correspondence, and business asserts from private fortunes. The more consistently the modern type of business management has been carried through the more are these separations the case. The beginnings of this process are to be found as early as the Middle Ages.

It is the peculiarity of the modern entrepreneur that he conducts himself as the “first official” of his enterprise, in the very same way in which the ruler of a specifically modern bureaucratic state spoke of himself as “the first servant” of the state. The idea that the bureau activities of the state are intrinsically different in character from the management of private economic offices is a continental European notion and, by way of contrast, is totally foreign to the American way.

Ⅳ. Office management, at least all specialized office management—and such management is distinctly modern—usually presupposes thorough and expert training. This increasingly holds for the modern executive and employee of private enterprises, in the same manner as it holds for the state official.

Ⅴ. When the office is fully developed, official activity demands the full working capacity of the official, irrespective of the fact that his obligatory time in the bureau may be firmly delimited. In the normal case, this is only the product of a long development, in the public as well as in the private office. Formerly, in all case, the normal state of affairs was reversed: official business was discharged as a secondary activity.

Ⅵ. The management of the office follows general rules, which are more or less stable, more or less exhaustive, and which can be learned. Knowledge of these rules represents a special technical learning which the officials possess. It involves jurisprudence, or administrative or business management.

The reduction of modern office management to rules is deeply embedded in its very nature. The theory of modern public administration, for instance, assumes that the authority to order certain matters by decree—which as been legally granted to public authorities—does not entitle the bureau to regulate the matter by commands given for each case, but only to regulate the matter abstractly. This stands in extreme contrast to the regulation of all relationships through individual privileges and bestowals of favor, which is absolutely dominant in patrimonialism, at least in so far as such relationships are not fixed by sacred tradition.

Key Words and Terms

officialdom　n.　官僚，官員，職員，官場(chǎng)，官僚作風(fēng)

jurisdictional　adj.　司法的，司法權(quán)的，審判權(quán)的，管轄權(quán)的

bureaucratically　adv.　官僚主義式的，官僚作風(fēng)的

delimit　v.　限制，定……的界

coercive　adj.　高壓的，強(qiáng)迫的，強(qiáng)制的

sacerdotal　adj.　僧侶的，祭司的，祭司制度的

methodical　adj.　有方法的，有條不紊的，井然

qualification　n.　資格，授權(quán)，條件，限制，合格證書

ecclesiastical　adj.　基督教的，教會(huì)的

capitalism　n.　資本主義制度，資本的擁有，資本的支配地位

feudal　adj.　封建的，領(lǐng)地的，世仇的

trustee　n.　受托人，信托公司，理事

courtservant　n.　宮廷侍從

commission　n.　委員，任命，委任

precisely　adv.　精確地，準(zhǔn)確地，一絲不茍地

hierarchy　n.　等級(jí)制度，分層

supervision　n.　監(jiān)督，管理

appeal　v.　要求，求助于；將……移交上級(jí)法院審理

monocratically　adv.　單一地、集權(quán)地

competency　n.　能力，資格，作證能力

subordination　n.　放置在次級(jí)；次級(jí)；附屬

incumbent　n.　在職者，教區(qū)牧師

original　adj.　獨(dú)創(chuàng)的，新穎的，原始的，最初的

draught　vt.　起草，相當(dāng)于“draft”

subaltern　adj.　下的，副的，次的

scribe　n.　抄寫員，抄書吏

domicile　n.　住處，永久住處

segregate　vt.　分開，分離，隔離

correspondence　n.　一致，符合；通信，信件

consistently　adv.　一貫地，堅(jiān)持地，固守地

peculiarity　n.　特性，特質(zhì)

intrinsically　adv.　從本質(zhì)上講

presuppose　vt.　預(yù)先假定，假設(shè)

obligatory　adj.　必須的，應(yīng)盡的，義務(wù)的

reverse　vt.　反轉(zhuǎn)，顛倒，交換

exhaustive　adj.　徹底的，透徹的，消耗的

jurisprudence　n.　法學(xué)，法理學(xué)

decree　n.　法令，命令；判決，裁定

entitle　vt.　使有資格，給與……權(quán)利

bestowal　n.　贈(zèng)與，貯存

patrimonialism　n.　世襲主義，家產(chǎn)制

NOTES

1. are distributed in a fixed way　進(jìn)行固定的分工

2. which may be placed at the disposal of officials　可任由官員安排

3. is not the historical rule but rather the exception　不是歷史規(guī)則而是例外

4. the ancient Orient　Orient用作名詞是指亞洲、東方，這里的意思是古老東方國家的政治機(jī)構(gòu)。

5. the Germanic and Mongolian empire of conquest　是指有征服史的日耳曼帝國和蒙古帝國的政治機(jī)構(gòu)。

6. table-companions　指在古代寄食于貴族官僚家里，為主人策劃、奔走的人，稱之為食客。

7. and are temporarily called into being for each case　其中，be called into being是指使存在、使擁有、使出現(xiàn)或產(chǎn)生，所以此段翻譯為“根據(jù)具體的情況賦予暫時(shí)的”。

8. the lower offices　下級(jí)

the higher ones　上級(jí)

9. is based upon written documents　建立在書面的文件之上

10. the Middle Ages　中世紀(jì)，是指歐洲歷史主要是西歐歷史上的一個(gè)時(shí)代，自西羅馬帝國滅亡（公元476年）數(shù)百年后起封建制度占統(tǒng)治地位的時(shí)期，到文藝復(fù)興（公元1453年）之后，資本主義萌芽時(shí)期為止。

11. a continental European nation　歐洲大陸國家，主要是指法國、德國等

12. hold for　適用于

13. irrespective of the fact that his obligatory time in the bureau may be firmly delimited　不管他在辦公室履行義務(wù)的工作時(shí)間標(biāo)準(zhǔn)可能有界定的事實(shí)

14. which as been legally granted to public authorities　在法律上賦予公共權(quán)威（當(dāng)局）

Comprehensive Exercises

Ⅰ. Questions about the Text

1. What is composed of bureaucratic authority in government or bureaucratic management in private organization?

2. Why did not “bureaucratic authority” come out in the ancient Orient?

3. What is the main principle of the modern organization of bureaucracy?

4. What is prerequisite for all specialized office management in bureaucracy?

Ⅱ. Discussion

Based on China's national conditions, What is your opinion of the idea that “the bureau activities of the state are intrinsically different in character from the management of private economic offices”?

作者簡(jiǎn)介與經(jīng)典導(dǎo)讀

凡是談到管理學(xué)發(fā)展歷程的地方，都把韋伯和泰勒、法約爾⁽¹⁾并列。古典管理學(xué)時(shí)期的這三位大師各有特色。如果說泰勒是以新教徒的執(zhí)著和認(rèn)真，將科學(xué)精神注入到管理當(dāng)中的；法約爾是以高瞻遠(yuǎn)矚的睿智，構(gòu)建了管理學(xué)的宏觀大廈；那么，韋伯就是以哲學(xué)家式的冷峻和嚴(yán)密，去追尋和建立最理想的組織結(jié)構(gòu)，即官僚制。

馬克斯·韋伯，1864年出生于德國圖林根的富有家庭。由于他的父親老馬克斯·韋伯當(dāng)選為國會(huì)議員，在韋伯幼時(shí)，全家遷居到柏林。老馬克斯·韋伯經(jīng)常邀請(qǐng)柏林各界的名流人士來參加家庭舉辦的沙龍，韋伯和他的弟弟們很小就沉浸在“談笑有鴻儒，往來無白丁”的家庭氛圍當(dāng)中。在韋伯13歲時(shí)，他給父母的圣誕禮物就是兩篇題為《與皇帝和教皇的地位特別有關(guān)的德國歷史的進(jìn)程》和《從君士坦丁到民族大遷徙時(shí)期的羅馬帝國》的歷史論文；到十四歲時(shí)，他的信里就涉及很多關(guān)于荷馬、維吉爾、西塞羅⁽²⁾的著作，并且在大學(xué)之前，韋伯的知識(shí)領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)擴(kuò)展到了歌德、斯賓諾莎、康德和叔本華。⁽³⁾從幼時(shí)的家庭教育和興趣愛好就可以預(yù)見到，馬克斯·韋伯很早就奠定了將要在社會(huì)科學(xué)領(lǐng)域追求最高深的課題并取得舉世矚目的成就的基礎(chǔ)。

家庭環(huán)境造就了馬克斯·韋伯，但也給他帶來了人生最大的挫折。韋伯的父親是一個(gè)典型的、追求享樂主義的柏林官僚，他的母親海倫妮則是一個(gè)虔誠的加爾文教徒，他們過著勤勉、節(jié)儉、冷靜、審慎的生活。“一個(gè)像海水，一個(gè)像火焰”，截然不同的性格造成了生活方式、教育理念等方面的矛盾和沖突，這些矛盾和沖突集中在對(duì)他們長(zhǎng)子韋伯的教育上。1889年，韋伯在獲得柏林大學(xué)法學(xué)博士之后留校任教，并在不到三十歲的時(shí)候獲得了教授資格；1893年，韋伯選擇離開父母的照顧和無盡的爭(zhēng)吵，來到海德堡大學(xué)任教。在學(xué)習(xí)和工作上，年輕的韋伯顯然選擇了母親的信仰，在自己的事業(yè)上做起了一個(gè)虔誠的加爾文教徒，像瘋狂的機(jī)器一樣投身到了社會(huì)科學(xué)這片浩瀚的“學(xué)海”之中。但是，他這種虔誠的學(xué)者生活卻因?yàn)楦改傅牡絹黻┤欢埂?897年，韋伯的母親海倫妮在和老韋伯發(fā)生爭(zhēng)吵后到海德堡投奔韋伯，老韋伯不依不饒也緊隨而來。韋伯出于對(duì)母親的維護(hù)，和父親發(fā)生了激烈的爭(zhēng)吵。一個(gè)月后，老韋伯在外出旅行途中去世，父子之間的沖突再也沒有機(jī)會(huì)和解。韋伯為此內(nèi)疚不已、悲痛欲絕，直至精神徹底崩潰，他曾對(duì)妻子宣稱“一個(gè)晚上1點(diǎn)鐘之前上床睡覺的教授不配被稱為學(xué)者”，他成為了一個(gè)“工作機(jī)器”，“不能看書，不能寫東西，不能談話，不能散步，也不能好好地沒有痛苦地睡覺”。后來有專門研究韋伯的學(xué)者分析，韋伯精神崩潰的根源在于他的俄狄浦斯情結(jié)，也就是心理學(xué)的戀母情結(jié)，在感情上，韋伯向著母親，他努力贊同并效仿母親內(nèi)省、勤勉、審慎的教徒生活，這也體現(xiàn)在他近乎瘋狂的工作狀態(tài)上。但另一方面，韋伯又表現(xiàn)出父親所期望的男子漢的樣子，粗魯、放縱、享樂的一個(gè)典型的德意志男子漢的形象。兩種截然相反的榜樣之間的沖突使韋伯最終選擇了母親的生活方式而與父親的榜樣作斗爭(zhēng)，這樣就走向了父親的另一個(gè)極端——狂熱工作、苦行禁欲主義。父親一死，對(duì)抗消失，“瘋狂的工作機(jī)器”崩塌了，最終使韋伯精神崩潰無法去做任何事。

1897—1903年，韋伯離開了教學(xué)職位，去歐美旅行療養(yǎng)。在美國旅行時(shí)期，韋伯被這片生機(jī)勃勃的土地“喚醒”，他開始思考為什么最發(fā)達(dá)的資本主義沒有產(chǎn)生在歐洲這些老牌資本主義國家，也沒有出現(xiàn)在中國這些文明古國？其根源就在于基督新教的宗教信仰，韋伯將其概括為資本主義精神?；谶@次旅行所帶來的思想“火花”，韋伯出版了他有生之年唯一的也是影響最大的著作——《新教倫理與資本主義精神》。從此，他開始涉足社會(huì)科學(xué)的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域——法律、歷史、宗教、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化等，倡導(dǎo)分工和專門化可以提高效率的韋伯卻超越了近代科學(xué)的專業(yè)分工并取得了偉大的成就，甚至開創(chuàng)了社會(huì)學(xué)的新領(lǐng)域——宗教社會(huì)學(xué)。

對(duì)于公共行政學(xué)來說，韋伯提出的“最理想的組織結(jié)構(gòu)類型”——官僚制，具有重大的理論意義。官僚制的英文是Bureaucracy，“Bureau”是法語，原意是書桌、寫字臺(tái)；Cracy源自希臘文Kratos，作為后綴具有統(tǒng)治、治理之意。自18世紀(jì)以來，Bureaucracy成為一個(gè)復(fù)合名詞，指實(shí)施管理的社會(huì)行政機(jī)構(gòu)（的特殊形式）。后來，韋伯賦予官僚制更深?yuàn)W也更為科學(xué)、合理的內(nèi)涵，作為“最理想的組織結(jié)構(gòu)類型”，官僚制具有合理分工、層級(jí)節(jié)制的權(quán)力體系、依照程序辦事的運(yùn)作機(jī)制以及組織管理的非人格化等特征。目前，官僚制不僅運(yùn)用于政府機(jī)構(gòu)之中，也出現(xiàn)在包括企業(yè)、社會(huì)組織等大型組織結(jié)構(gòu)之中。

本書這一節(jié)的內(nèi)容正是選取于韋伯《經(jīng)濟(jì)與社會(huì)》⁽⁴⁾這本宏觀巨制。實(shí)際上，不管是資本主義精神還是官僚制，其核心都是以效率為主要追求目標(biāo)的理性精神。但是，正如馬克思主義學(xué)者批判資本主義精神過于推崇理性而抹滅了人性一樣，新公共管理運(yùn)動(dòng)的倡導(dǎo)者也將官僚制視為扼殺公務(wù)員創(chuàng)新精神甚至人性的“囚籠”，應(yīng)該予以“超越”和“再造”或者直接“摒棄”。通過學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)典著作我們能發(fā)現(xiàn)，學(xué)者之所以偉大并造就經(jīng)典，并不是因?yàn)樗岢隽艘粋€(gè)理論或者學(xué)說，而是因?yàn)樗麄兏矣诜穸ㄗ约?、突破自己。就像韋伯，他在充滿激情地論證了資本主義精神存在的價(jià)值之后，卻話鋒一轉(zhuǎn)地表達(dá)了對(duì)過于強(qiáng)調(diào)這種精神或者理性將會(huì)導(dǎo)致后果的擔(dān)憂，“對(duì)于外在物的關(guān)心應(yīng)當(dāng)‘像一件輕輕披在圣者肩上的薄外衣，可以隨時(shí)扔到一邊’，可是命運(yùn)的裁決卻使那件輕裘變成了鐵籠?！?a href="#jz_1_6" id="jzyy_1_6">⁽⁵⁾

對(duì)于作為后發(fā)國家的中國而言，官僚制對(duì)組織中人性尤其是創(chuàng)造性的遏制已經(jīng)非常明顯，在政府中工作的公務(wù)員朝九晚五、碌碌庸庸、官僚主義的庸政懶政現(xiàn)象引起了公眾的極大不滿。因此，在20世紀(jì)80年代西方掀起的新公共管理運(yùn)動(dòng)影響下，有學(xué)者提出中國也應(yīng)該再造甚至摒棄官僚制，但是，按照公共行政學(xué)創(chuàng)始人威爾遜提出的研究方法，世界性的“做什么”應(yīng)該永遠(yuǎn)由中國式的“如何做”來支配。官僚制確實(shí)會(huì)因?yàn)檫^于強(qiáng)調(diào)理性、強(qiáng)調(diào)程序而抑制了工作人員的積極性、主動(dòng)性，反過來也會(huì)成為社會(huì)進(jìn)步的組織結(jié)構(gòu)障礙，這些問題在中國體現(xiàn)的也很明顯，但是韋伯官僚制強(qiáng)調(diào)的法治、程序、非人格化等理性特征對(duì)于飽受傳統(tǒng)人情觀念影響的政府等大型組織來講，如果可以合理使用，也不失為一劑良藥。所以，不能盲目地吸取西方新公共管理運(yùn)動(dòng)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)而去摒棄官僚制，組織對(duì)人的管理是不可或缺的，從現(xiàn)實(shí)來看，西方新公共管理運(yùn)動(dòng)浪潮“褪去”之后，其弊端日益凸顯并飽受后新公共管理理論（例如本書第三部分介紹的整體治理理論、新公共服務(wù)理論）的批判。因此，中國政府在進(jìn)行機(jī)構(gòu)改革時(shí)，不管是西方公共行政學(xué)的何種理論或者改革運(yùn)動(dòng)，都應(yīng)該以中國的國情為基本考量，世界性的“做什么”應(yīng)該永遠(yuǎn)由中國式的“如何做”來支配。

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(1)　亨利·法約爾（1841—1925），出生于法國，因提出管理五要素、管理的十四條原則等理論，開創(chuàng)了“管理過程學(xué)派”，因此也被稱為管理過程之父。

(2)　荷馬是古希臘著名盲人詩人，維吉爾、西塞羅是古羅馬詩人。

(3)　歌德（1749—1832），德國思想家；斯賓諾莎（1632—1677），荷蘭哲學(xué)家；尼采（1844—1900），德國哲學(xué)家；叔本華（1788—1860），德國哲學(xué)家。

(4)　這本宏觀巨制是在韋伯死后，由他的妻子——瑪麗安娜整理他生前在期刊上發(fā)表的文章編輯出版的，瑪麗安娜后來也憑借自己的努力成為一個(gè)女權(quán)主義者和作家。

(5)?。鄣拢蓠R克斯·韋伯．新教倫理與資本主義精神［M］．彭強(qiáng)，等，譯．西安：陜西師范大學(xué)出版社，2002．