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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book
may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages,
poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the
original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We
believe this work is culturally important, and despite the
imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of
our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works
worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in
the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
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Equalities (Paperback, New Ed)
Douglas Rae; As told to Douglas Yates, Jennifer L. Hochschild, Joseph Morone, Carol Fessler
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R710
Discovery Miles 7 100
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Equality has always been the most powerful political idea in
America, and it is becoming the most powerful idea in the world.
Observers from Alexis de Tocqueville to the most recent social
critics have commented upon the idea's great force. Yet, for all
its influence upon popular ideology, the idea of equality becomes a
bundle of contradictory impulses once it is applied to public
policy and social institutions. As the title of this lively book
suggests, equality becomes equalities. Once inequality is
established, there is a deep difference between equal policies and
policies that lead to equality. Once people have different needs,
there is a sharp difference between treating them equally and
treating them in ways that serve them equally. Once people have
unequal (or unequally developed) talents, then equal opportunity
cannot mean both equal opportunity and an equal prospect of
success. Once society is cleaved by differences of race, sex,
income, and so on, there is an intense difference between policies
and reforms that reduce racial, sexual, and economic inequality and
policies that diminish equality among persons. Douglas Rae and his
colleagues develop an ingenious "grammar of equality" to explain
and explicate the main ways in which equality turns into equalities
as it passes from the realm of ideas to the realm of practice. The
book's exciting new method of analysis, based on logic and theories
of political economy and political science, is a valuable
contribution. Equalities helps us answer such questions as: "Is
equality possible?" "How, after so long a period of ostensible
egalitarianism, can inequality still dominate so much of the social
landscape?" The responses are bound to stir controversy among all
those interested in political theory or in social policy or in the
attainment of equality.
Although everyone agrees on the need to make government work
better, few understand public bureaucracy sufficiently well to
offer useful suggestions, either theoretical or practical. In fact,
some consider bureaucratic efficiency incompatible with democratic
government. Douglas Yates places the often competing aims of
efficiency and democracy in historical perspective and then
presents a unique and systematic theory of the politics of
bureaucracy, which he illustrates with examples from recent history
and from empirical research. He argues that the United States
operates under a system of "bureaucratic democracy," in which
governmental decisions increasingly are made in bureaucratic
settings, out of the public eye. He describes the rational,
self-interested bureaucrat as a "minimaxer," who inches forward
inconspicuously, gradually accumulating larger budgets and greater
power, in an atmosphere of segmented pluralism, of conflict and
competition, of silent politics. To make the policy process more
competitive, democratic, and open, Yates calls for strategic debate
among policymakers and bureaucrats and insists that bureaucrats
should give a public accounting of their significant decisions
rather than bury them in incremental changes. He offers concrete
proposals, applicable to federal, state, and local governments, for
simplifying the now-chaotic bureaucratic policymaking system and at
the same time bolstering representation and openness. This is a
book for all political scientists, policymakers, government
officials, and concerned citizens. It may well become a classic
statement on the workings of public bureaucracy.
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