> [!tldr] Literally "Rule by desks" We use the term "bureaucracy" typically with _negative_ connotations (and bureaucracies can certainly be negative), but a bureaucracy is really more of a neutral thing. Bureaucracy is about imposing _order_, even sometimes at the expense of "truth". A bureaucracy cannot see you as an individual, but instead as a [[Classifiers|class]] with numerical traits to apply rules against. The were formed after [[Anthropological Information Network Technologies|the invention of the document]]. Bureaucracies enable societies to function... but they are also the cause of suffering. Harari argues (well) that bureaucracies trade *truth* for *order* - and that the good ones find a good [[Balance]]. One example of this "truth vs order" push and pull is the need for bureaucracies to [[Binning|bin]] people into classes or situations for which they have pre-ordained rules. You cannot be treated truly as an individual (the truth of the matter) - you fit into a "type", and people of your "type" are given whatever treatment. Easier with an example: Whether or not you can drive a car is an individual trait. Do you have the knowhow and capacity? That's the truth. Whether or not you can drive a car according to the bureaucracy is if you have a valid driver's license. **** # More ## Source - [[Nexus]]