BUREAUCRATIC MALAISE IN THE MODERN SPY NOVEL: DEIGHTON, GREENE, AND LECARRE
| Author | STEVEN M. NEUSE |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1982.tb00481.x |
| Published date | 01 September 1982 |
| Date | 01 September 1982 |
BUREAUCRATIC MALAISE IN THE MODERN
SPY
NOVEL: DEIGHTON, GREENE, AND LECARRE
STEVEN
M. NEUSE
Modem espionage novels and particularly those of Deighton, Greene, and LeCarre
provide exceptional insights into bureaucratic politics.
As
well as offering a wealth of
material about bureaucratic structure and behaviour, their works speak to the
negative consequences and effects of bureaucratic pressures and ideologies on the
human
s
irit. Specifically, these novelists posit that in
a
bureaucratic world heroism
is flawed: that principles no longer flow from moral purpose, and that the evil
which needs to be conquered can no
longer
be identified solely with an externalized
enemy. The conclusion drawn is that the bureaucratic state, which substitutes
technique for purpose and principle, and bureaucratic personality for individual
initiative and motivation, is largely responsible for this malaise. The world which
remains reflects, paradoxically, both order and disorder
-
the image is that
of
a
universal clock winding its way down
to
an uncertain, yet organizationally
dominated future.
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As
wind in dry glass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion,
T.S.
Eliot
The
Hollow
Men
I
honestly
do
wonder, without wishing
to
be morbid, how
I
reached this
present pass.
So
far as
I
can ever remember of my youth,
I
chose the
secret road because it seemed to lead straightest and furthest toward my
country's goal. The enemy in those days was someone we could point at
and read about in the papers. Today, all
I
know
is
that
I
have learned
to interpret the whole of life in terms
of
conspiracy. That
is
the sword
I
Steven
M.
Neuse
is
an
Associate Professor
of
Political
Science
at
the
University
of
Arkansas.
Public
Administration
Vol.
60
Autumn
1982 (293-306)
0
1982
Royal
Institute
of
Public Administration
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