{"product_id":"the-machinery-of-government-public-administration-and-the-liberal-state-9780197628324","title":"The Machinery of Government: Public Administration and the Liberal State","description":"In political theory, the traditional model of state power was that elected officials make policy decisions which are then faithfully executed by a lower cadre of public servants. The complexity of the modern state, however, leaves this model outdate. The vast number of economic and social problems it confronts is such that a great deal of rule-making power is now delegated to a class of civil servants. Yet many political philosophers have not taken this model up, and the field has ignored the important role played by the class of \"permanent\" state officials--the \"deep state\" as some call it--in liberal states. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn most liberal democracies for example, the central bank is as independent as the supreme court, yet deals with a wide range of economic, social, and political issues. How do these public servants make these policy decisions? What normative principles inform their judgments? In \u003cem\u003eThe Machinery of Government\u003c\/em\u003e, Joseph Heath attempts to answer these questions. He looks to the actual practice of public administration to see how normative questions are addressed. More broadly, he attempts to provide the outlines of a \"philosophy of the executive\" by taking seriously the claim to political authority of the most neglected of the three branches of the state. Heath both provides a corrective to the prevailing tendency to underestimate the contribution of civil servants to the success of liberal-democratic welfare states, and suggests a more satisfactory account of the principles implicit in public administration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joseph Heath\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/11\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 440\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.4lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.48h x 6.10w x 1.01d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780197628324","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43446859038857,"sku":"9780197628324","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_d18ec7fb-c5b9-42d8-9d37-66c4c6200392.jpg?v=1741683886","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-machinery-of-government-public-administration-and-the-liberal-state-9780197628324","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}