The Age of the Bureaucrat

Vying for power has always been a part of mankind. Nietzsche would say the desire for power is in man’s fundamental nature. Hedonists would say that power is the tool for bringing oneself pleasure. Whether it comes in the form of muscles, fame or money, power and control is ubiquitous and clearly runs the lives of man.

Power for man used to come in the form of brut force. A hundred thousand years ago, the strongest man got the food, the women and the respect of the tribe. Things didn’t change much after that. Thousands of years ago in Scandinavia, the Norse people believed that the greatest warriors lived forever in the halls of Valhalla to prepare for the epic battle of the Ragnarock. The Romans watched gladiators fight sometimes to the death in fantastic battles. A mere eight hundred years ago, battling bravely, without fear of death, was seen as the highest honor. Knights of Europe, warring Huns of Central Asia and Samurai of Japan all had near identical doctrine with regard to fighting. And today, for God or country, men still battle in armies or “freedom fighting/terrorist groups”.

There is a noticeable shift in the prize of fighting, though. As time went on, the rewards for being the best changed from real physical goods (food, women and other stuff) to only abstract rewards (code, national honor, favor of God). Has fighting progressed to a higher level? Not likely. In fact, the abstract rewards were there before along with the spoils of a plunder. No, the only change in the nature of fighting is that the tangible elements have been wrestled away by a new group- the bureaucrat.

Today, the tangible spoils of war are enjoyed by the bureaucrat. Bureaucrat comes from the Greek meaning power of the office. I’m using the term loosely to mean any job where power is gained using the system. Building wealth through speculation? Through consulting? Through analysis? This is only possible is a world with complex bureaucratic systems. Today, that is how the power is achieved. This is not a new concept. Many writers have discussed the transfer of “Bushido” (the warrior’s code and motivation) to the merchant class. One navigates the laws of society and the characteristics of the market to earn money and gain power. Even great fighters like, say, Jean Claude VanDamn became successful, not through fighting alone, but by having great agents who placed him in movies and handled his wealth.

Now, in America, our greatest heroes are the bureaucrats. Politicians are enshrined. People read of CEO’s life stories. The life of warrior leads to poverty while the life of bureaucrat leads to wealth.

Movies and religious doctrine have yet to catch up to reality. “Epic” battles are still fought with fists or swords. Assuming religion is true (a big assumption), it would be more probably that the grand armies of Satan and Jesus would be armed with lawyers and accountants. The warriors of Valhalla, lacking J.D.’s and not being CPA’s would be useless is in this glorious clash.

And I look at myself trapped in this system as well. I feel like I’m armed with a net and trident against men with swords and shields. Too bad it’s not really that entertaining.