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What is bureaucratic evil?
Bureaucracy is the administrative system of an organization or institution that is put in place to maintain order and uniformity throughout the system. Bureaucratic evil is a perfect example of how strictly adhering to the rules can lead to moral catastrophes.
Who is the culprit? How and where does it manifest?
Bureaucratic evil manifests as hideous violations that organizational members perpetrate while fulfilling their daily duties as “law-abiding,” “dependable” citizens. As a result, bureaucratic evil lurks in the shadows. Unfortunately, it is overshadowed by their dedication to their everyday responsibilities, which inadvertently inflict pain and suffering through thoughtlessness and lack of a solid moral compass.
The 20th century has been the bloodiest era, mainly because modern technology has created effective killing machines such as airplanes, tanks, and weapons of mass destruction. What is more enigmatic is how we manage to distance ourselves from this evil.
Why do we disassociate ourselves from bureaucratic evil?
1. The unwillingness on our part to take responsibility for intentional actions. In a conversation I had with the client regarding a dreadful feeling she was experiencing, she repeatedly referred to the possibility of the psychological innocence of the perpetrators while emphasizing the victims’ choice to suffer based on their response to the trauma.
2. We are making ethical values matter personal discretion rather than a bedrock of society’s foundation.
3. Freudian psychology has decreed guilt as unhealthy and paralyzing; shame, its social equivalent, is no better in its ability to guide our decisions and behaviors. Adams and Balfour described shame and guilt as the sentinels of evil that have been marginalized in psychology and sociology, leading to the downplaying of evil in the media. As a result, we have become accustomed to evil to the point that we are reluctant to call it evil. (Adams, Balfour, & Nickels, 2019)
4. As evil permeates and finds its way beneath the facade of bureaucracy and the administrative state, whether private or public, it is, in essence, a reflection of our ability to lead from authenticity and our choice to subdue or surrender to the shadows we face every day.
An Investigation of Bureaucratic Evil
A perfect example of administrative evil at work is the Stanford Prison Experiment. In the 1970s, a group of social scientists at Stanford University led by Phillips Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement of the psychology department. Zimbardo was curious about how our immediate environment affects our behavior. They wanted to explore why prisons are such awful places. What they found was shocking. Although they had previously identified themselves as pacifists, the guards quickly transformed into callous disciplinarians. The first night, the prisoners were woken up at 2 a.m. and often asked to do push-ups against the wall, among other things. The next day the prisoners retaliated and barricaded themselves inside their cells. The pretend guards became more violent, stripping the prisoners, splashing them with fire extinguishers, and relegating their leader to solitary confinement. With time the guards dialed up the abuse and intimidation, creating an atmosphere of terror. The guards’ cruel and sadistic behavior grew worse as the experiment progressed. “What we were unprepared for is the intensity of change and the speed at which it happened,” exclaimed Zimbardo.
Unfortunately, the experiment had to be terminated prematurely due to serious concern for the prisoner’s psychological well-being. One guard stated, “I think I was positively creative in terms of my mental cruelty.” One prisoner had a hysterical reaction; others had to be released due to “extreme emotional depression, crying, rage, and acute anxiety.” In his book “Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell affirms Zimbardo concluded “that there are specific situations so powerful that they can overwhelm our inherent predispositions.” (Gladwell, 2000, pp. 152-154) The Stanford Prison Experiment revealed that people easily conform to roles imposed upon them, especially if those roles are highly stereotyped.
How can we conquer this evil?
Bureaucratic evil relies on a combination of technology and logic. Globalization and highly sophisticated weapons have made this evil far more powerful and expansive.
- We conquer this evil by being aware of its existence, as this evil may be hidden from those who participate in it.
- Taking responsibility for our role in evil as bureaucracy and separating ourselves from unjust authority.
- Understanding the long-term consequences of our ethical actions will help us put things in perspective so as not to minimize the repercussions of our day-to-day activities.
- We can resist by not allowing external forces to overpower our sense of right and wrong. “Just following orders” is no excuse for propagating bureaucratic evil.
Are you able to spot this hidden evil?
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I empower busy and ambitious executives, business owners, and professionals to go from existing to living so they can gain clarity on their purpose, unlock their potential, and elevate their leadership. I am a doctor and a certified leadership coach credentialed by the International Coaching Federation; I have earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership and am a certified emotional resilience mentor and trainer. In addition, I have had the pleasure of establishing coaching relationships with leaders from 20 different organizations.
References
Adams, G. B., Balfour, D. L., & Nickels, A. E. (2019). Unmasking administrative evil(Vol. 13). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference.New York, NY: Little Brown And Company.
Johnson, C. E. (2015). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
