The bureaucrat murderer (desk murderer) and the subaltern man: reflections from the essay “Auschwitz on trial”

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/Argumentos.31.12

Keywords:

Bureaucracy. Hannah Arendt. Bureaucratic murderer. Subaltern Man. Bernd Naumann. Auschwitz.

Abstract

Arendt’s reflections on the reverberations of the bureaucratic way of governing give rise to two distinct and, above all, complementary argumentative trajectories: 1) its investigation as a form of domination originating from imperialism and later used as a model of totalitarian; 2) the role of bureaucrats. Both help to understand why the bureaucracy not only survived the fall of totalitarian regimes, but also remained the organizational model of nations. At the intersection of these readings, the essay “Auschwitz on Trial” presents two types of participants in the Nazi bureaucratic apparatus: bureaucratic assassins (desk murderes) and subordinate men. In common among them was a lack of responsibility for the crimes perpetrated by the regime and thoughtlessness; however, their degree of participation in the hierarchy and their punishability in post-war trials differed greatly. In these terms, this article aims to analyze the similarities and differences between subordinate men and bureaucratic murderers. To do so, it is assumed that understanding them helps to understand bureaucracy as a form of government that makes public freedom and the free exercise of spiritual activities unfeasible.

Author Biographies

Lara Rocha, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)

Doutoranda em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC).

Odílio Alves Aguiar, Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)

Graduado em Filosofia pela Universidade Estadual do Ceará (1985), mestrado em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (1988) e doutorado em Filosofia pela Universidade de São Paulo (1998). Professor efetivo concursado da Universidade Federal do Ceará desde 1987 e titular desde abril de 2015. Atua como professor dos Programas de Pós-graduação em Filosofia da UFC e UECE. Tem experiência na área de Filosofia, com ênfase em Filosofia Política, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: filosofia, ética, política, violência, natureza e técnica.

References

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ROCHA, L. Burocracia. In: AGUIAR, O. A.; CORREIA, A.; MÜLLER, M. C.; VARELA, G. (Orgs.). Dicionário Arendt. São Paulo: Edições 70, 2022.

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Published

2024-01-15

Issue

No. 31 (2024)

Section

Varia

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