The psychology of bureaucracy: A normative account inspired by Rom Harré

During the last years of his life, I had a number of discussions with Rom Harré about the puzzling growth of inefficient bureaucracy around the world. He was particularly critical of the sharp rise in the number of administrators at Oxford, Georgetown, and other universities in which he had invested his academic life. In this paper, I provide a normative account of inefficient bureaucracy inspired by Harré. I give priority to narratives that sustain normative systems ‘out there’ ‐ both beyond individuals, and enmeshing individuals. Through the metaphor of an inverted pyramid with seven levels of identity threat, I interpret the growth of inefficient bureaucracy in organizations as associated with collective narratives about threats against ‘us,’ with identity threat serving as justification and motivation to adopt and expand inefficient bureaucracy. In the final section, I briefly discuss the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in bureaucracy, and possible solutions to inefficient bureaucracy suggested by the normative model.