Bureaucracy in Hegel's Political Theory

Abstract

In Hegel's political theory many important and difficult functions were assigned to government. Because of its recruitment on merit and complex structures it is the bureaucracy outlined in Hegel's theory that must assume the functions of government. Hegel's account of bureaucracy corresponds to seven of Weber's ten criteria. Where they differ is in Hegel's insistence that the bureaucracy has a moral mission that defines its functional one. Commitment to that moral mission, according to Hegel, can be attained only through the continual development of ethical character as recommended by Aristotle and Kant. To meet Hegel's standard of bureaucracy, a government must be organized in a certain way to be functionally effective and efficient, but it must also be profoundly committed to the common good.