000			01065pab a2200157 454500
008			180718b1998 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aSpicer, Michael W.
245			_aPublic administration, social science, and political association
260			_c1998
300			_ap.35-52
362			_aMar
520			_aPublic administration writers have placed considerabale faith in the power of social science to improve the practice of public administration. This article argues that such faith derives from their vision of the state as a purposive association. However, because we live in what is essentially a civil association rather than a purposive association, there are severe limits on the knowledge that social science can provide for practice. Public administration inquiry, it is concluded, needs to devote more attention to the nature of the civil association in which it operates, particularly in regard to our constitutional system of governance. - Reproduced
650			_aPublic administration
773			_aAdministration and Society
909			_a37700
999			_c37700 _d37700