The United States Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy, defined as a system of government in which most important decisions are made by non-elected officials rather than by elected representatives, best describes the United States government. This theory of government was outlined by German historian and sociologist Max Weber, who believed a group of experts with certain skills were best certified to manage the government efficiently and effectively.

Bureaucrats can be found everywhere you look in our society. All large institutions, both governmental and nongovernmental, have fallen under the control of bureaucracies. So, people like teachers, employees at the DMV, and health inspectors can all be placed within this category.

The most important set of government agencies, though, is led by the President's cabinet. Departments like the State Department, Treasury, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, at more are represented here. Fifteen organizations are led by the members of the cabinet, called secretaries. The most notable positions under the Trump administration are held by Rex Tillerson (Secy. of State,) Jeff Sessions (Attorney General,) and James Mattis (Secy. of Defense.)

President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet

The leadership held by those pictured above is more far-reaching than we may think. Consider the Department of Justice, which is led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. On the organization's website, one can see a list of the departments within the DOJ. Jeff Sessions and his bureaucracy have extensive jurisdiction, over programs like the DEA, FBI, and the ATF. It also oversees United States prisons, paroles, pardoning, and more. While this is just one example, one can see that each secretary within the Cabinet plays a major role in the everyday operations of the United States.

This system provides a major advantage, which is that decisions are made and work is conducted efficiently. With so many employees and professionals, it is easy to accomplish goals of the federal government without forcing elected officials to do all of the work. However, one could argue that there is a disadvantage to having a bureaucratic government as well. Because there are thousands of agencies and thousands of divisions within each, it is easy for them to overshadow the government outlined by the Constitution. The bureaucracy does raise a question about the legitimacy of Congress, since they can create their own laws, called regulations, much more quickly than Congress can pass a bill.

No matter if it is good our bad, this system ultimately is the leading force in our government. Marxism and Elitism outline how one or a few important people come into power, but ignore the thousands of people who actually exercise power over people's everyday lives. This theory best describes our country, where a large percentage of the workforce is employed by federal and state governments.

This crash course gives more information about and provides examples of the American bureaucracy in action.