English

Noun

faceless bureaucrat ‎(plural faceless bureaucrats)

1. (idiomatic, usually pejorative) A stereotypical anonymous, interchangeable and unaccountable government official.
   • 1983, Rosenberg, Alan, “The Philosophical Implications of the Holocaust”, in Perspectives on the Holocaust, ISBN 9789401568647:

     The desk-killer operates from within a network of other faceless functionaries radiating in every direction and in which the sense of responsibility could be passed along from faceless bureaucrat to faceless bureaucrat with the greatest of ease, as if it is nothing but an item passed along a conveyor belt on a mass-production line.

   • 1992, Batley, Richard, The Political Executive, ISBN 9780714634807, page 29:

     If you want a parliamentary democracy with responsible and accountable ministers, you have to complement the high-profile political role of a minister with that of a neutral, faceless bureaucrat, confined to the role of an adviser.

   • 1996, Cook, Brain J., Bureaucracy and Self-Government, ISBN 9780801854101, page 192:

     The faceless bureaucrat, the rigidly rule-bound and unresponsive public servant, the mysterious labyrinth of corridors, the long customer service wait times—these are all part of the imagery of public bureaucracy deeply imbedded in American culture.

   • 2011, James, Nick, Cancer: A Very Short Introduction, ISBN 9780191620119, page 96:

     [...] when cancer therapy tends to hit the press is when access to a new therapy is denied someone, usually presented as a variant of the staple news story of 'patient refused life-saving drug by faceless bureaucrat'.

   • 2014, Bruce Miroff, Raymond Seidelman, Todd Swanstrom and Tom De Luca, The Democratic Debate, ISBN 9781305147041, page 327:

     Probably the most powerful of the myths about the modern administrative state concerns the identity of the typical bureaucrat. The faceless bureaucrat of myth is inefficient and lazy on one hand, aggressive and hyperactive in meddling in people's lives on the other. But in truth bureaucrats are ordinary people.

Related terms

• drone
• a cog in the machine
• See also Wikisaurus:bureaucrat