Customer Reviews

The Art of Judgment: A Study of Policy Making (Rethinking Public Administration)

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I bought this book hoping that it would give some practical advice for how to develop that elusive and valuable capability, judgement, or, alternatively, to explain what "policy" is. It does not do the former and it assumes that one already knows what he latter is. It must be said, however, that the aims of the author are something quite different from answering my two questions.

The author writes as if he firmly believes that the Man from the Ministry knows best, and gave the impression to me, at least, that while private enterprise and the individual free under the common law are to be tolerated, they really interfere with good civil servants working tirelessly for the betterment of society.

The style of the book is that of a superior, arrogant, arts degree English civil servant of no special merit. The author makes mountains out of molehills and will use seven words where one would do. Nowhere in this book is there a table of data or any sort of quantitative method to assist in judgement.

As I re-read parts of this book I thank Heavens that England is no longer run in the way that the book advocates. Apart from anything, life is too short for this much redundant, baroque, repetitive verbiage.

"EPICTETUS"