Citizen Participation in Public Affairs

Bibliographic Data

ID6359101
AuthorsJames V Cunningham (corresponding author)
Year1972
Volume32
Pages589-589
Publication date1972-10-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Administration Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0033-3352 • E-ISSN: 1540-6210
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2307/975227
OpenAlexW2316790629
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited2

Everyday experience subjected to speculation readily leads to a view of the human person as an irrepressible controller. Whether exchanging money for goods, picking a mate, driving an automobile, or filling out a tax form, the human species can be observed maneuvering to maintain choice and somehow to be the principal determiner of outcome. An incessant struggle goes on against domination by outside elements. Obviously, each person wants control over his or her life. Perhaps the drive can be largely snuffed out at an early age, but even when this has happened it seems possible for the drive to recur. Why, then, should citizen participation be accorded the attention usually reserved for a revolutionary innovation? Is it not merely an application of a long-identified general principle of human inclination to public affairs? History, it seems, is a winding tale of frustration for all but a few members of the human race. Records of the past indicate that in most times and places the ordinary human being has been dominated by traditions and elites. The inclination for self-determination has been largely stymied. And especially in public affairs; that is, those matters that go beyond individuals and families to affect many members of a community. Consequently, an outbreak of participation in any age becomes a significant event. And, in our age the phenomenon may be of special significance to executives of public organizations, increasingly puzzled by citizens who are not satisfied with

Political science · Public participation · Public Administration

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