Wherein lies the true power of the bureaucratic arts? It is not in the petty paperwork, nor is it in the soul-sucking meetings. No, the true art of red tape lies in the intricate dance of formality, the subtle weave of regulations, and the calculated obfuscation of meaning.
Step 4, the penultimate step on our Bureaucratic Values Chart, is where the rubber meets the road. Here, the would-be visionary is transformed into the fully-formed, paperwork-ridden drone.
Key Principles:
- Formalism: The art of making things sound more complicated than they need be.
- Regulatory Overreach: The science of creating rules that apply to everyone, but not to oneself.
- Obscurantism: The subtle art of hiding meaning in plain sight.
- Procedural Byzantinism: The delicate dance of creating procedures that serve only to confuse.