15. Anti-Bureaucracy as Democratic Control
Marx distrusted bureaucracy as a symptom of class rule and alienation from democratic control. He predicted socialism would simplify governance and empower individuals directly. “The bureaucracy is a circle from which no one can escape,” he wrote, criticizing its self-serving nature. Marx expected workers’ democracy to replace complex administrative structures, with ordinary people participating directly in decision-making rather than becoming subjected to a new managerial class operating above society.
