--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bureaucracies are inherently…" description: "\"Bureaucracies are inherently antidemocratic. Bureaucrats derive their power from their position in the structure, not from their relations with the peo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/alan-keyes-7078_bureaucracy_bureaucracies-are-inherently-antidemocra_1952241.jpg" --- # Bureaucracies are inherently antidemocratic. Bureaucrats… ![“Bureaucracies are inherently antidemocratic. Bureaucrats derive their power from their position in the structure, not from their relations with the people they are supposed to serve. The people are not masters of the bureaucracy, but its clients.” quote by Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/alan-keyes-7078_bureaucracy_bureaucracies-are-inherently-antidemocra_1952241.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/alan-keyes-7078_bureaucracy_bureaucracies-are-inherently-antidemocra_1952241.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c3/alan-keyes-7078_bureaucracy_bureaucracies-are-inherently-antidemocra_1952241.jpg) > “Bureaucracies are inherently antidemocratic. Bureaucrats derive their power from their position in the structure, not from their relations with the people they are supposed to serve. The people are not masters of the bureaucracy, but its clients.” [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bureaucracies concentrate authority in hierarchical structures, limiting democratic participation and making officials answerable to the system rather than citizens. **In simple terms:** Bureaucracies limit democracy by centralizing power. Key Takeaway Seek accountability and citizen oversight. Themes democracy power bureaucracy citizen rights Mood critical reflective Type political analytical When to use this quote - government reform - citizen advocacy - policy design - public service accountability Key Concepts institutional design authority delegation public administration Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens influence bureaucratic decisions? - What safeguards ensure bureaucrats serve the public? A Different Perspective Bureaucratic efficiency may conflict with democratic responsiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antidemocratic Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antidemocratic-bureaucrats-3175747/) [Bureaucracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracies/) [Bureaucracies Inherently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracies-inherently-3175748/) [Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Bureaucrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats/) [Bureaucrats Derive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucrats-derive-3175749/) [Clients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clients/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) ## Related quotes > [We'll always have bureaucracies, but bureaucracies led by bureaucrats might be too much of a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/we-ll-always-have-bureaucracies-but-bureaucracies-led-by-bureaucrats/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [“Bureaucracies can be—and usually are—appallingly inefficient, but efficient bureaucrats can—and usually do—find ways to circumvent the regulations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bureaucracies-can-be-and-usually-are-appallingly-inefficient-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bureaucracies typically move slowly, clumsily, and without much regard for the wants and needs of the people they supposedly serve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-miller/bureaucracies-typically-move-slowly-clumsily-and-without-much-regard/) [Joel Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-miller/) > [By their very nature bureaucracies have no conscience, no memory, and no mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-t-hall/by-their-very-nature-bureaucracies-have-no-conscience-no-memory-and/) [Edward T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-t-hall/) > [Bureaucracies have a natural tendency not to cooperate, coordinate or consolidate with each other. They won't cooperate with each other - unless they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-holbrooke/bureaucracies-have-a-natural-tendency-not-to-cooperate-coordinate-or/) [Richard Holbrooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-holbrooke/) > [Bureaucracies are progressive. meaning they have a burning fear that someone. somewhere, is doing something without permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/bureaucracies-are-progressive-meaning-they-have-a-burning-fear-that/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [“Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/right-from-the-first-the-little-people-who-formed-the-governments/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The bureaucracy is not great. I don't think Rick Santorum who is not one for being a big proponent of large bureaucracies would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ford-jr/the-bureaucracy-is-not-great-i-don-t-think-rick-santorum-who-is-not/) [Harold Ford, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ford-jr/) > [Change requires individuals who recognize that new things can be done and who take the initiative to get them done ... The existing bureaucracies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/change-requires-individuals-who-recognize-that-new-things-can-be-done/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Bureaucracies force us to practice nonsense. And if you rehearse nonsense, you may one day find yourself the victim of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-gonzales/bureaucracies-force-us-to-practice-nonsense-and-if-you-rehearse/) [Laurence Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-gonzales/) > [“One of the key characteristics of an elite corps is its susceptibility to those more powerful than itself. Elite power is naturally attracted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/one-of-the-key-characteristics-of-an-elite-corps-is-its/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [It's come around to that point of view at the end of a long evolutionary process, in which the rule of law has slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-come-around-to-that-point-of-view-at-the-end-of-a-long/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [And I think it's true of any big organization... Bureaucracies and organizations make it hard to do the right thing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-terrio/and-i-think-it-s-true-of-any-big-organization-bureaucracies-and/) [Chris Terrio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-terrio/) > [We need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/we-need-to-ensure-that-the-government-agencies-that-are-supposed-to/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) ## More by Alan Keyes > [A nation of character is filled with citizens who gradually build lives based on the living awareness that their deeds are judged by eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/a-nation-of-character-is-filled-with-citizens-who-gradually-build/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Selfish hedonism is not a pejorative. It is a description - an exactly accurate description of what is involved in homosexual relations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/selfish-hedonism-is-not-a-pejorative-it-is-a-description-an-exactly/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [I read American sagas (of the west) and I do not see people who went in search of material things. I see people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/i-read-american-sagas-of-the-west-and-i-do-not-see-people-who-went-in/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [God's irony, that in order to fight and defeat the threat of terrorism, we shall have to be clear about the principle of justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/god-s-irony-that-in-order-to-fight-and-defeat-the-threat-of-terrorism/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Christ is the very epitome of innocence, and without the blood of Christ, shed on Calvary, God's plan of salvation would not have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/christ-is-the-very-epitome-of-innocence-and-without-the-blood-of/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Where do find the most persecuted Christians in the world?... in the classrooms of our government schools, where the assault is not upon the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/where-do-find-the-most-persecuted-christians-in-the-world-in-the/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [We must reject dictatorship in whatever form it takes--and especially when it rears its head in our own midst on the bench.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/we-must-reject-dictatorship-in-whatever-form-it-takes-and-especially/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [The heart of government, coated with whatever velvet gloves you want to put on it, is a mailed fist of force and coercion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/the-heart-of-government-coated-with-whatever-velvet-gloves-you-want/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [I feel like we're between two great possibilities: we're either going to turn things around, and in this generation see the rising sun of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/i-feel-like-we-re-between-two-great-possibilities-we-re-either-going/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [I accept the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, to represent the State of Illinois.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/i-accept-the-republican-nomination-for-the-u-s-senate-to-represent/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Rights don't come from human documents. The very idea is only worthy of contempt. Human documents are nothing but pieces of paper, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/rights-don-t-come-from-human-documents-the-very-idea-is-only-worthy/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [A conservative party that reshapes its self-presentation according to the suggestions of the liberal media, of course, may very well get what such lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/a-conservative-party-that-reshapes-its-self-presentation-according-to/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Christ would not vote for Barack Obama because Barack Obama has voted to behave in a way that it is inconceivable for Christ to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/christ-would-not-vote-for-barack-obama-because-barack-obama-has-voted/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Freedom does not mean doing what you can get away with, doing what you please. It means, instead, having the opportunity to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/freedom-does-not-mean-doing-what-you-can-get-away-with-doing-what-you/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [The fundamental premise of liberalism is the moral incapacity of the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/the-fundamental-premise-of-liberalism-is-the-moral-incapacity-of-the/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) [Explore all 95 Alan Keyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) ## More Bureaucracies quotes > [Today we know that centralization and big bureaucracies have not, as promised, been the answer for promoting better opportunities for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-salinas-de-gortari/today-we-know-that-centralization-and-big-bureaucracies-have-not-as/) [Carlos Salinas de Gortari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-salinas-de-gortari/) > [We need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/we-need-to-ensure-that-the-government-agencies-that-are-supposed-to/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [I like studios. I just don't like bureaucracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/i-like-studios-i-just-don-t-like-bureaucracies/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [Changing the world in a profound and beneficial way is not enough to put a dint in bureaucracies which operate on their own dynamics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-cummings/changing-the-world-in-a-profound-and-beneficial-way-is-not-enough-to/) [Dominic Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-cummings/) > [And I think it's true of any big organization... Bureaucracies and organizations make it hard to do the right thing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-terrio/and-i-think-it-s-true-of-any-big-organization-bureaucracies-and/) [Chris Terrio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-terrio/) > [Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“As bureaucracies accumulate power, they become immune to their own mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/as-bureaucracies-accumulate-power-they-become-immune-to-their-own/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [It's come around to that point of view at the end of a long evolutionary process, in which the rule of law has slowly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/it-s-come-around-to-that-point-of-view-at-the-end-of-a-long/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“One of the key characteristics of an elite corps is its susceptibility to those more powerful than itself. Elite power is naturally attracted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/one-of-the-key-characteristics-of-an-elite-corps-is-its/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [We'll always have bureaucracies, but bureaucracies led by bureaucrats might be too much of a bad thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/we-ll-always-have-bureaucracies-but-bureaucracies-led-by-bureaucrats/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [Bureaucracies force us to practice nonsense. And if you rehearse nonsense, you may one day find yourself the victim of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-gonzales/bureaucracies-force-us-to-practice-nonsense-and-if-you-rehearse/) [Laurence Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-gonzales/) > [Change requires individuals who recognize that new things can be done and who take the initiative to get them done ... The existing bureaucracies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/change-requires-individuals-who-recognize-that-new-things-can-be-done/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [The bureaucracy is not great. I don't think Rick Santorum who is not one for being a big proponent of large bureaucracies would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ford-jr/the-bureaucracy-is-not-great-i-don-t-think-rick-santorum-who-is-not/) [Harold Ford, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ford-jr/) > [One of the greatest struggles of bureaucracies is they get built and created, but they design themselves in such a way that they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-barnett/one-of-the-greatest-struggles-of-bureaucracies-is-they-get-built-and/) [Josh Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-barnett/) > [“Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/right-from-the-first-the-little-people-who-formed-the-governments/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) [Browse all 50 Bureaucracies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Bureaucracies are inherently antidemocratic. 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