"Devine, James" wrote:
>
> CB:>Isn't "bureaucracy" a Weberian and not Marxist concept ? ... <
>
> The Pharoah couldn't rule
> ancient Egypt without relying on the bureaucracy, so the latter got a lot of
> the power.
Historical footnote. Probably in Egypt the bureaucracy (priestcraft)
_was_ the power. It's been years (decades) since I read Leslie White
(and I'm not sure now if I've got his first name correct -- he was a
Univ. of Michigan anthropologist), but I believe he argued that
Akhnaton's (sp?) attempt to impose a monotheistic religion on Egypt
represented an attempt to throw off the power of the priesthood and make
the Pharaoh the ruler rather than the servant. He died young (or was
murdered by the priests) and the bureaucracy reasserted its power.
No one should depend on this post as a source of solid information. It's
too dim in my memory.
Carrol
