Administrative Policy Formulation and the Public Interest

IMATIONG STUDENTS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION the concept of has occasioned considerable debate, yet little consensus. Ironically, the lack of consensus in the academic community seems equalled only by the certainty with which official pronouncements are uttered in the name of public interest, a circumstance leading many scholars to abandon the concept altogether. While it is tempting to follow suit, such a collective quietude will in the long haul relegate the public interest to an innocuous position in the conventional wisdom shared by The Essential Brotherhood of Man and The American Way. In the hope that it is still a viable concept, an operational definition derived from a fundamental assumption about democracy will be offered, followed by a consideration within that context of styles of administrative behavior in formulating public policy. While unanimous agreement on the matter is not anticipated, the argument is advanced that the fundamental premise underlying democracy is that the ethical or moral correctness of political and social values, and of resultant policy, is not subject to proof.1 Freedom to propose change, or indeed to defend the status quo, is simply assumed because the legitimate limitation of such activity requires proof of an alternative position. Freedom's traditional democratic counterpart, equality, is justified on similar grounds. We need not contend that all men are created equal; rather, since no one