Yet, Weber himself was concerned about the consequences of bureaucracy
for both democratic values and the individual human spirit. He said “‘democracy’
as such is opposed to the ‘rule’ of bureaucracy” (Weber, quoted
in Gerth and Mills 1946, 231). Even so, Weber thought that ultimately, bureaucratic
power would exceed that of the political sphere: “Under normal
conditions, the power position of a fully developed bureaucracy is always
overpowering” (232).