Bad Bureaucracy Quotes & Sayings

Good general differ from bad generals only in the degree to which they resist the psychopathology of the very organization they serve. Norman Dixon — Patrick Hennessey

All rich countries now employ legions of functionaries whose primary function is to make poor people feel bad about themselves. — David Graeber

[The Utopia of Rules] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way to get rid of all those hours spent listening to bad call-centre music? Do policemen, academics, teachers and doctors really need to spend half their time filling in forms? Or can we imagine another world? — Gillian Tett

That's Russian bureaucracy for you," says Kirill. "Talking to them, it is like - kak serpom po yaytsam."
"What did you say?" I ask.
"Like a sickle to the balls," says Kirill grimly.
I wince at the vivid imagery. Russians and their idioms.
"It means this is a bad situation," Kirill explains.
"I got that from the context clues, thanks. — Maria Malonzo

Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around law. By pretending that procedure will get rid of corruption, we have succeeded only in humiliating honest people and provided a cover of darkness and complexity for the bad people. There is a scandal here, but it's not the result of venal bureaucrats.
(1994) p. 99 — Philip K. Howard

The factory model of education is a gargantuan bureaucracy. Some kids are good fits - I wasn't. The system gives you bad grades and tells you you're stupid. You don't think, 'If this kid's not a good fit, it could be the system's fault.' — Jose Ferreira