The Divine Science
Political Engineering in American Culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3763243 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Austin Ranney (University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1976 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 140-148 |
| Publication date | 1976-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1960330 |
| OpenAlex | W4248864403 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 12 |
The American polity's designers proceeded from what John Adams called "the divine science of politics"-an approach very close to that of modern empirical political science. It was rooted in their conviction that truth is best discovered by the systematic investigation of experience; they investigated experience with methods primitive by modern standards but advanced for the eighteenth century; they applied their findings to the design of political institutions; and they regarded all institutions as experimental, to be revised when experience indicates. This faith in political and social engineering has remained ever since a major element in American political culture. It has recently been shaken by Vietnam, Watergate, and other systemic failures; but it is still far preferable to alternative faiths, especially if we today can cool our rhetoric, moderate our expectations, and recapture the pragmatic, experimental mood of those who created "the divine science
Conviction · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Faith · Political culture · Political science · Politics · Polity · Rhetoric · Social science · Sociology · Theology · Law · Philosophy · Political Science Research and Education
Biases in Public Policy Implementation Evaluation
After Labeling and Conflict
Selecting a Voting System
Visionary Political Leadership
Political Design and the Representation of Interests
The Politics of Faith
One Soul at a Time
A Pragmatic Method for Evaluating Election Schemes through Simulation
Federalism, Nationalism, and Democracy in America
International encyclopedia of the social sciences.
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
Liberal Tradition in America
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
The American Science of Politics
Drafting the Federal Constitution
A History of American Political Thought
Order, Empiricism and Politics
The Growth of American Thought
Benjamin Franklin, Philosopher and Man
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,18 |
| Citation span | 1977 - 1988 (12) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |