"The Utopia of Rules:On Technorogy,Stupidity,and the Secret Joy of Bureaucracy"Melville House,2015の訳である。
内容は多岐にわたっており、彼の博学ぶりがよく表れている。だから、この本は章が進むと同時に論理に深まっていくというものではないので、要約するのは難しい。官僚制（規則）というものをいろいろな角度から考察しているので、内容は読んで頂くしかない。
まず、訳について一言。まずタイトルだが、たしかに分かりやすく、本書全体を総括したものになっている気はするが、原題のほうがいいように思う。もちろん、原作者には許可をもらっていると思うが、本書の内容は「官僚制のユートピア」という範疇を超えて「規則のユートピア」を述べているからだ。訳そのものは、丁寧で正確だと思うのだが（言葉を補ったりして親切）、どうも読みやすいとは言えない。それは酒井氏自身の著作にも言える。伝えようとする気持ちが全面に出ていて、それがかえって理解を妨げているようなところがある気がする。もちろんグレーバーの叙述の仕方の特徴であるが、一つの事象をいろいろな視点から見ているので、一見逆なことを言っているかのように思える時が多々あって読み手を惑わす。それがグレーバーの作戦でもある。読者は、考えながら、いくつもの視点を持ちながら読み進めなければならないのだ。
現代の世界の流れは、「新自由主義」に支配されているが、新自由主義というのは表向きは規制を緩和し、政治ではなく市場に主導権を与えるものである。しかし、そのためには支配者層に確実にお金が流れるようにしなくてはならないので、数々の法律（規則）を作り、改正していかなければならない。それが政府の役割である。例えば、日本の所得税法を見ていただければそれがわかる。毎年改正されるのは当然として、例外規定がどんどん増えているのだ。例外規定は本文に載せることもあるが、その殆どが「附則」に盛り込まれる。その結果、附則が本文の何倍もの厚さになる。そこには例外の例外の例外・・・が書かれていて、結局本文の内容がほとんど意味をなさなくなっている。それらはみんな大企業、高額所得者のためのものだ。トヨタやトヨタの社長はほとんど法人・個人所得税を払っていないという話も聞く。これが新自由主義の特徴をよく表している。規制緩和という名のもとに、規則はどんどん複雑になっていくのだ。
その規則に合わせるため、申請書等の書類は書く欄が増え続け、添付書類が増え続ける。そのためにそれを処理する官僚の仕事も増え続ける。公務員数は減っているように見えるが、郵政民営化、国立大学法人化、非特定独立行政法人化等で大幅に減少している他、地方公務員は地方交付税に影響があるため、増やすことができない。その代わり、臨時職員・嘱託職員はどんどん増加して、人員の4割ほどになっている。（国の白書を見ても、そのような数字は出ていない。正職員数しか把握できないのだと思う。）
国民にとっても、負担が増えるだけでなく、申請そのものができなくなっている可能性もある。
民間でも同じだ。保険の約款など、何十頁もある上に、小さい字でなおかつ「灰色の薄い文字」で書いてある。読むなと言っているのだ。そのうえ何かあれば「約款に書いてあります」という。役所以上にお役所的だ。それは官僚性が行政の形態ではなく、一般企業の中にも浸透し、区別がつかなくなっているということである。
規則が増えれば増えるほど、規則を守るために人が生きているような状態になる。それは、規則が自分を守ってくれているような気持ちになる。そして、規則の中で、安心する。批判精神は失われる。
官僚性が支配する社会では、誰も責任を取らなくていい。悪いのは規則なのであって、その規則を作ったのは民主主義社会と言われているところでは、社会の構成員全員であるということになっているからだ。しかし、その社会自体は暴力的に作られたのだ（内的にも外的にも）ということを人々は忘れている。だから、その社会の維持には暴力が必要なのだ。その暴力は、反社会的（反体制的ということは、そのまま反社会的な行為となる。）な行為に対して顕著に現れる。デモやストは反社会的なことになる。今の日本で、デモやストを起こすことは難しいように思えるが、実際には多数行われている。マスコミが情報を隠蔽しているだけだ。もう、マスコミは自分で情報を得ることはしない。そんなことをしてもそれを報道することは不可能だからだ。マスコミそのものの中も官僚制が支配している。ただ政府や自治体の長の発表を報道することしかしない。あとは企業の（商品の）宣伝だ。出版業界も、その内容で出版するわけではない。売れるものを出版するしかない。
官僚制は、決して合理的ではない。官僚性の維持には膨大な費用と時間がかかる。それを合理的だとするなら、その代償にわたしたちは何かを失っているのだ。そう、自主性と自由だ。考えなくても良くなるということだ。人々は考えることを放棄する。それが「自発的隷属」となる。
⟨impressions⟩
"The Utopia of Rules: On Technorogy,Stupidity, and the Secret Joy of Bureaucracy" Melville House, 2015.
The content is wide-ranging, and his learning is well represented. So this book is not about deepening into logic as chapters progress, so it's hard to summarize. Since we are considering bureaucracy (rules) from various angles, we have no choice but to read the contents.
First, a word about the translation. First of all, the title is easy to understand and I think it is a summary of the whole book, but I think the original title is better. Of course, I think that the original author has obtained permission, but the content of this book goes beyond the category of "bureaucratic utopia" to describe "rule utopia". I think the translation itself is polite and accurate (completion of words and kindness), but it is not easy to read. It can be said in Mr. Sakai's own work. I feel like I am trying to convey it all over the place, which in turn hinders my understanding. Of course, it is a characteristic of Greber's narrative method, but since one phenomenon is viewed from various perspectives, it is often misleading to the reader that it seems to be saying the opposite. That is also the strategy of the gray bar. The reader must read while thinking and having various viewpoints.
The modern world is dominated by "neoliberalism," which ostensibly deregulates and gives market leadership, not politics. However, in order to do so, it is necessary to ensure that money flows to the ruler class, so a number of laws (rules) must be created and amended. That is the role of the government. For example, if you look at Japan's income tax law, you can see that. As a matter of course, it is revised every year, and the number of exceptions is increasing. Exceptional provisions may be included in the text, but most of them are included in the “Supplementary Provisions”. As a result, the annex is many times thicker than the text. The exception of the exception of the exception is written there, and the content of the text is almost meaningless after all. They are all for large corporations, high-income earners. We also hear that Toyota and Toyota's president pay almost no corporate or personal income tax. This shows the feature of neo-liberalism well. In the name of deregulation, rules are becoming more and more complex.
In order to comply with the rules, the fields for writing applications and other documents will continue to increase and the number of attachments will continue to increase. For that reason, the work of the bureaucrats who handle it continues to increase. The number of civil servants seems to be decreasing, but it has decreased significantly due to the privatization of postal services, the incorporation of national universities, the incorporation of non-specified independent administrative agencies, etc. I can't. Instead, the number of temporary staff and temporary staff is increasing steadily, accounting for about 40% of the staff. (Even if you look at the white paper of the country, there is no such number. I think that only the number of regular staff can be grasped.)
For the people, not only will the burden increase, but there is also the possibility that the application itself will not be possible.
The same is true for the private sector. It has dozens of pages, including insurance policies, and is small and written in "light gray letters." I'm telling you not to read. Moreover, if there is something, he says, "It is written in the terms and conditions." It's more like a government office than a government office. It means that bureaucracy is not in the form of administration, but permeates into general corporations and is indistinguishable.
The more rules you have, the more like a person lives to keep them. It feels like the rules are protecting you. And in the rules, rest assured. The critical spirit is lost.
In a bureaucratic society, no one needs to take responsibility. The bad thing is the rules, and in what is said to be a democratic society, the rules are made by all members of the society. But people forget that the society itself was created violently (internally and externally). Therefore, violence is necessary to maintain the society. The violence is conspicuously manifested in antisocial (as opposed to antisocial acts, it is an antisocial act). Demonstrations and strikes are antisocial. In Japan today, it seems difficult to have a demonstration or strike, but in reality there are many. The media is just hiding the information. The media no longer get the information themselves. It is impossible to report such a thing. The bureaucracy rules in the mass media itself. It only reports the announcement of the head of the government or the local government. The rest is company (product) advertising. The publishing industry does not publish with that content. There is no choice but to publish what sells.
Bureaucracy is never rational. Maintaining bureaucracy is costly and time consuming. If it makes sense, we are losing something in return. Yes, autonomy and freedom. It means that you can get better without thinking. People give up thinking. It becomes "voluntary slavery".
"The Utopia of Rules: On Technorogy,Stupidity, and the Secret Joy of Bureaucracy" Melville House, 2015.
The content is wide-ranging, and his learning is well represented. So this book is not about deepening into logic as chapters progress, so it's hard to summarize. Since we are considering bureaucracy (rules) from various angles, we have no choice but to read the contents.
First, a word about the translation. First of all, the title is easy to understand and I think it is a summary of the whole book, but I think the original title is better. Of course, I think that the original author has obtained permission, but the content of this book goes beyond the category of "bureaucratic utopia" to describe "rule utopia". I think the translation itself is polite and accurate (completion of words and kindness), but it is not easy to read. It can be said in Mr. Sakai's own work. I feel like I am trying to convey it all over the place, which in turn hinders my understanding. Of course, it is a characteristic of Greber's narrative method, but since one phenomenon is viewed from various perspectives, it is often misleading to the reader that it seems to be saying the opposite. That is also the strategy of the gray bar. The reader must read while thinking and having various viewpoints.
The modern world is dominated by "neoliberalism," which ostensibly deregulates and gives market leadership, not politics. However, in order to do so, it is necessary to ensure that money flows to the ruler class, so a number of laws (rules) must be created and amended. That is the role of the government. For example, if you look at Japan's income tax law, you can see that. As a matter of course, it is revised every year, and the number of exceptions is increasing. Exceptional provisions may be included in the text, but most of them are included in the “Supplementary Provisions”. As a result, the annex is many times thicker than the text. The exception of the exception of the exception is written there, and the content of the text is almost meaningless after all. They are all for large corporations, high-income earners. We also hear that Toyota and Toyota's president pay almost no corporate or personal income tax. This shows the feature of neo-liberalism well. In the name of deregulation, rules are becoming more and more complex.
In order to comply with the rules, the fields for writing applications and other documents will continue to increase and the number of attachments will continue to increase. For that reason, the work of the bureaucrats who handle it continues to increase. The number of civil servants seems to be decreasing, but it has decreased significantly due to the privatization of postal services, the incorporation of national universities, the incorporation of non-specified independent administrative agencies, etc. I can't. Instead, the number of temporary staff and temporary staff is increasing steadily, accounting for about 40% of the staff. (Even if you look at the white paper of the country, there is no such number. I think that only the number of regular staff can be grasped.)
For the people, not only will the burden increase, but there is also the possibility that the application itself will not be possible.
The same is true for the private sector. It has dozens of pages, including insurance policies, and is small and written in "light gray letters." I'm telling you not to read. Moreover, if there is something, he says, "It is written in the terms and conditions." It's more like a government office than a government office. It means that bureaucracy is not in the form of administration, but permeates into general corporations and is indistinguishable.
The more rules you have, the more like a person lives to keep them. It feels like the rules are protecting you. And in the rules, rest assured. The critical spirit is lost.
In a bureaucratic society, no one needs to take responsibility. The bad thing is the rules, and in what is said to be a democratic society, the rules are made by all members of the society. But people forget that the society itself was created violently (internally and externally). Therefore, violence is necessary to maintain the society. The violence is conspicuously manifested in antisocial (as opposed to antisocial acts, it is an antisocial act). Demonstrations and strikes are antisocial. In Japan today, it seems difficult to have a demonstration or strike, but in reality there are many. The media is just hiding the information. The media no longer get the information themselves. It is impossible to report such a thing. The bureaucracy rules in the mass media itself. It only reports the announcement of the head of the government or the local government. The rest is company (product) advertising. The publishing industry does not publish with that content. There is no choice but to publish what sells.
Bureaucracy is never rational. Maintaining bureaucracy is costly and time consuming. If it makes sense, we are losing something in return. Yes, autonomy and freedom. It means that you can get better without thinking. People give up thinking. It becomes "voluntary slavery".
[出演者(プロフィール)]
デヴィット・グレーバー
1961年、ニューヨーク生まれ。文化人類学者・アクティヴィスト。ロンドン・スクール・オブ・エコノミックス人類学教授。
著書：『アナーキスト人類学のための断章』（以文社，2006年）
『資本主義後の世界のために』（以文社，2009年）
『負債論』（以文社，2016年）
他：Lost Peaple:Magic and the Legasy of Slavery in Madagascar,Indiana University Press.Toward on Anthoropological Theory of Value:The False Coin of Our Own Dreams(Palgrave,2001). Direct Action:An Ethnography(AK Press,2007),On Kings (HAU,近刊)など多数。
酒井隆史
大阪府立大学教員、専攻は社会思想史、都市文化論
なぜ空飛ぶ自動車はまだないのか?かつて人類が夢見た「空飛ぶ自動車」をめぐる科学技術は、ひるがえって人間の内面を規制する「マネジメント(=官僚制)」を生み出した!新自由主義が自明のものとなった今日、それもまた空気と化している。『負債論』の著者グレーバーが、その無意識の現代性に切り込む画期的な文明批評!
[拡大] [ISBN-10: 4753103439]
