Critical Theory and Public Policy

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6328581
AutoresFred Dallmayr (University of Notre Dame, autor de correspondencia), Fred R Dallmayr
Año1980
Volumen9
Número4
Páginas522-534
Fecha de publicación1980-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolicy Studies Journal (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0190-292X • E-ISSN: 1541-0072
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1541-0072.1980.tb00963.x
OpenAlexW2070295601
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas10

In the confines of the study of politics, public policy analysis involves a shift from pure to applied research, a shift which intensifies the problem of the fact‐value split inherited from positivist behavioralism. While early public policy literature concentrated on empirical policy‐making processes bypassing moral criteria, some recent writings have elaborated on policymaking and policy evaluation as a type of normative inquiry; significant steps in this direction have been undertaken by Duncan MacRae and especially by Jurgen Habermas in the context of “critical theory.” According to Habermas, policy evaluation requires a critically reflective “practical discourse” open not only to experts or policy analysts but to the public at large. The paper argues that such discourse is a valuable remedy against the technical‐instrumental bent of applied science, but that recovery of a fully non‐instrumental “practical” judgement presupposes an evaluation not only of concrete policies but of the status of “policy” itself

Context (archaeology · Economics · Epistemology · Judgement · Law and economics · Normative · Policy analysis · Policy Sciences · Policy studies · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Positivism · Public policy · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Political Science Research and Education · Public Administration