| Summary: | In this research report, I question the moral justification of bureaucracy. After
pointing out some arguments in favour of bureaucracy and some teleological, or
result-based, arguments against bureaucracy, I pay particular attention to
deontological, or process-based, moral arguments against bureaucracy. The two main
arguments against bureaucracy that I address are (1) that bureaucracies constitute
unfair decision making procedures in democratic societies, and (2) that bureaucracies
treat their participants (both clients and workers) disrespectfully. I then give some
suggestions of what a promising alternative to bureaucracy might look like, based on
the two main arguments against bureaucracy that I consider. Ultimately, I conclude
that it is still an open question whether bureaucracy is morally justified, but that my
research brings to the fore some serious moral problems with bureaucracy that are
worth taking note of. Even if it turns out that the results of bureaucratic organisation
are so beneficial that bureaucracy is, all things considered, justified, the moral
problems that I point out in this research are worth serious consideration.
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