Brandon Ching
PAF 602 (Fall 2008)

Abstract

Ostrom, V. (1989). The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration. University Alabama Press.

Vincent Ostrom’s The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration is an argument against bureaucratic administration in favor of democratic administration. Ostrom sees a fundamental dichotomy in the field of public administration and presses for a paradigm shift in classical Kuhn fashion. This shift is away from the traditional theory of public administration as layed out by Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber, and others. Drawing upon Alexis Tocqueville, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and others, Ostrom argues that fragmentation of authority and overlapping jurisdiction allow for less abuse of power and greater efficiency in administration. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: abstract, abuse, critique, efficiency, power, public administration