Max Weber was a German philosopher who wrote a very influential book called "Economy and Society." He insightfully wrote about bureaucracy and its affect on societies and people within those societies. As someone who has always been critical of the inefficiencies found in the government and in large corporations, I've found Weber's work enlightening, informative, and confirming. But why am I writing about a German philosopher's musings from so long ago? Prisons are run by bureaucrats, and while government operations are inherently inefficient anyway, I've never seen anything like I've observed in prison over the last 16 years! Weber highlights five primary drawbacks to bureaucracy, and each has a correlation to the prison environment. Let me say, first, that I understand a certain need for consistency, especially in a total institution like prison. Prisoners, officers, staff members, and the public need to know things are consistent in prison. But they really aren't. That might be the aim of bureaucracy, but the only thing consistent is, well, the inconsistency of operations. That and the illogic of so many decisions made in the prison setting. Here are Weber's drawbacks to bureaucracy and how they relate to prisons: 1. Dehumanization Bureaucratic approaches to management leads to viewing prisoners as numbers rather than as individuals. It's not just the management approach that leads to this outcome, though. It's also the philosophy of administrators and society who often see prisoners as intractable rejects who will never get right. It's easy to treat people you see like that as less than human. 2. Rigidity Strict prison rules and procedures can lead to inflexibility, making it difficult to address individual needs of prisoners or to adapt to the prison's changing circumstances. A lot of things are common among prisoners, but the prisoners themselves are often very different with differing needs. Prisons are notoriously ill equipped to create customized plans for individuals. Instead, we're often lumped into groups who have very little in common except for a single feature (usually a behavior). Causes of these behaviors are often irrelevant. 3. Goal Displacement Prisons are so focused on maintaining order and following procedures that their goals of rehabilitation or reducing recidivism (if those ARE goals) are ignored or reduced in importance. Prison administrators are notoriously reactionary to situations, punishing an entire prison population for the behavior of a single prisoner or even a small group. And programs that are especially helpful for prisoners are cancelled or not supported because they don't fit the plan laid out by people who have never stepped foot in a prison. 4. Iron Cage Both prisoners and officers or staff can feel trapped in the rigid and impersonal system of prison. There's very little hope that things will get better, so prisoners and staff alike develop learned helplessness. Although things COULD change for the better, they don't because bureaucracy and red tape make change almost impossible. We end up just surrendering to the stupidity instead of beating our heads against the wall while trying to change things. 5. Over Specialization Division of labor in prisons can lead to a narrow focus on specific tasks, potentially neglecting broader goals of rehabilitation and reintegration. "It's not my job" is such a common thought (and expression), and nobody seems to know WHO to pass the buck to. They just know they don't want it. Consequently, simple things become big problems, all because the problem didn't fit neatly into someone's stated responsibilities. It's incredibly ironic to me that I am incarcerated in a system that wants me to change, but that demonstrates an inability to change itself. Soon, I'll leave the chaotic insanity of prison (and I mean mostly the bureaucratic lunacy), but I'm confident that lawmakers and prison administrators will continue to make stupid decisions divorced from common sense. That'll never change. |