policy paradox. the art of political decision making

5/27/2018 Policy Paradox. the Art of Political Decision Making

Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making

Chapter One Summary

The Market and the Polis

The author begins with the statement A theory of policy politics must start with a modelof political society, that is, a model of the simplest ersion of society that retains theessential elements of politics!" She chooses the word #reek word polis", which meanscity$state! This word is fitting because it describes an entity small enough to hae erysimple forms of organi%ation yet large enough to embody the elements of politics! &nsearching for the elements of politics, it is helpful to use the market model as a foilbecause of its predominance in contemporary policy discussions! The contrast betweenthe models of political and market society will illuminate the ways the market model

grossly distorts political life!

A market can be defined as a social system in which indiiduals pursue their own welfareby e'changing things with others wheneer trades are mutually beneficial! Participantsin the market are in competition with each other for scarce resources( each person tries toac)uire things at the least possible cost, and to conert raw materials into aluable thingsthat can be sold at the highest possible price! &n the market model, indiiduals act only toma'imi%e their own self$interest *which might include the well$being of their friends andfamily+! Ma'imi%ing ones own welfare stimulates people to be resourceful, creatie,cleer and productie, and ultimately raises the leel of economic well$being of thesociety as a whole! -ith this description of the market model, an alternatie model of the

polis can be constructed by contrasting more detailed features of the market model and apolitical community!

Community

.ecause politics and policy can only happen in communities, community must be thestarting point of the polis! Public policy is about communities trying to achieesomething as a community! This is true een when there are conflicts oer what thegoals should be and who the members of the community are! /nlike the market, whichstarts with indiiduals and assumes no goals, preferences, or intentions other than thoseheld by indiiduals, a model of the polis must assume both collectie will and collectie

effort!

A community must hae a membership and some way of defining who is a member ofthe community and who is not! Membership is in some sense the primary political issue,for membership definitions and rules determine who is allowed to participate incommunity actiities and who is goerned by community rules and authority! The authornotes a significant distinction between residence and citi%enship!


She continues with a discussion of the difference between political community andcultural community! A political community is a group of people who lie under the samepolitical rules and structure of goernance and share status as citi%ens! A culturalcommunity is a group of people who share a culture and draw their identities from acommon language, history, and traditions! The political community can include many

dierse cultural communities, and policy politics is faced with the )uestion how tointegrate seeral cultural communities into a single political community withoutdestroying or sacrificing their identity and integrity!

Membership in a community defines social and economic rights as well as politicalrights! The author recogni%es that there is a component of mutual aid" amongcommunity members! Mutual aid is a good in itself that people create in order to fosterand protect a community! Sharing burdens brings and holds people together! And in alarger sense, sharing caring, and maintaining relationships is at least as strong a motiatorof human behaior as competition, separation, and promotion of ones separate self$interests!

Public &nterest

The concept of public interest" may mean any of seeral things! &t could be indiidualinterests held in common, indiidual goals for the community, program or policiesfaored by a ma0ority, or things that are good for the community as a community! &tsimportant to note in regards to public interest that often people want things for theircommunity that conflict with what they want for themseles *such as lower ta'es andgood schools+ and that what people want usually changes oer time! At the ery least,eery community has a general interest in haing some goerning process and somemeans for resoling disputes without iolence, defending itself from outsiders, and

perpetual e'istence!

There is irtually neer full agreement on the public interest, yet it is necessary to make ita defining characteristic of the polis because so much of politics is people fighting oerwhat the public interest is and trying to reali%e their own definition of it! The concept ofpublic interest is to the polis what self$interest is to the market! They are bothabstractions whose specific contents we do not need to know in order to use them toe'plain and predict peoples behaior! -e simply assume that people behae as if theywere trying to reali%e the public interest or ma'imi%e their self$interest!

1ssentially within a market the empty bo' of public interest is filled as an afterthought

with the side effects of other actiities! &n the polis, by contrast, people fill the bo'intentionally, with forethought, planning, and conscious effort!

Common Problems

Common problems are defined as situations where self$interest and public interest workagainst each other! There are two types of common problems2 actions with priatebenefits entail a social cost *industrial waste into a lake+( and social benefits re)uire


priate sacrifices *school system re)uires ta'es+! Any situation can be described in bothways *clean lakes are a social benefit re)uiring priate costs of nonpolluting wastedisposal and a poor school system is the social cost of high priate consumption+! Sowhether a situation is labeled as social benefits and priate costs" or social costs andpriate benefits" is strictly a matter of point of iew!

Common problems are also called collectie action problems because it is hard tomotiate people to undertake priate costs or forgo priate benefits for the collectiegood! *Think global warming3+

&n market theory, common problems are thought to be the e'ception rather than the rule!&n the polis, by contrast, common problems are eerything! Most significant policyproblems are common problems! The ma0or dilemma of policy in the polis is how to getpeople to gie primacy to these broader conse)uences in their priate calculus of choices,especially in an era when the dominant culture celebrates priate consumption andpersonal gain!

&nfluence

4ortunately, the ast gap between self$interest and public interest is bridged in the polisby some potent forces2 influence, cooperation, and loyalty! Actions, no less than ideasare influenced by others$through the choices others hae made and the ones we e'pectthem to make, by what they want us to do, and by what we think they e'pect us to do!More often than not, the author argues, our choices are conditional! *Striking worker,post office complaint+

&nfluence also leads to interesting collectie behaior, such as bandwagon effects" in

elections when a candidates initial lead cause more people to support him because theywant to back a winner or when panics happen when people fear an economic collapse,rush out to cash out their bank accounts or sell their stocks, and in so doing bring aboutthe collapse they feared! One cannot understate that influence$in all its arieties anddegrees of strength$is one of the central elements in politics!

Cooperation

&n the polis cooperation is as important as competition for the following reasons! 4irst,politics inole seeking allies and organi%ing cooperation in order to compete withopponents! 1ery conflict unites some people as it diides others and politics has as

much to do with how alliances are made and held together as with how people arediided! Secondly, cooperation is essential to power and is often a more effectie formof subordination than coercion! *Prison guard and prisoners+

&n the market, cooperation is usually described negatiely *collusion, oligarchy, price$fi'ing, insider trading+ while in the polis it is described more positiely *coalition,alliance, union, party, support+!


5oyalty

Cooperation entails alliances, and alliances are at least somewhat enduring! &n the idealmarket, a buyer will switch suppliers in response to a price or )uality change! &n politics,relationships are not so fluid! They inole gifts, faors, support and most of all, future

obligations! Political alliances bind people oer time! &n the market, people are buyers"and sellers"! &n politics, they are enemies" and friends"! 4riendships are forgiing ina way that pure commercial relationships are not, or should be! &n the polis, historycounts for a lot( in the market, it counts for nothing! *&ts business not personal+

This does not mean that political alliances are perfectly stable or that people neerabandon friends and 0oin with former enemies! .ut it does mean that in the polis theresa presumption of loyalty! &t takes a ma0or eent$something that triggers a deep fear oroffers a ast opportunity$to get them to switch their loyalties! There is a risk to breakingold alliances and people do not do it lightly!

#roups

.ecause of the powerful forces of influence, cooperation and loyalty, groups andorgani%ations, rather than indiiduals are the building blocks of the polis! #roups areimportant in three ways2 4irst, people belong to institutions and organi%ations, een whenthey are not formal members and their opinions are shaped by organi%ations and theydepend on organi%ations to represent their needs! Second, the author asserts, policymaking is not only about soling public problems, but about how groups are formed,split, and re$formed to achiee public purposes! Third, groups are important becausedecisions of the polis are collectie!

&nformation

&n the ideal market, information is perfect, meaning it is accurate, complete and aailableto eeryone at no cost! &n the polis, by contrast, information is interpretie, incomplete,and strategically withheld! Correct information does e'ist, but in the politics, theimportant thing is what people make of such reports! &nterpretations are more powerfulthan facts! 4or this reason, much of political actiity is an effort to control suchinterpretation! *Think spin control+! &n the polis, information is neer complete! Moreimportantly for a model of the polis is that crucial information is deliberately kept secretfor the reason that one e'pects someone else to behae differently once the information ismade public! *Think 4red Thompson 0oining the race for presidency+ Secrecy and

reelation are tools of political strategy and information by its ery nature is alued andaluable!

Passion

One of the 5aws of Passion" is that passion feeds upon itself! 5ike passion, politicalresources are often enlarged or enhanced through use! Channels of influence andpolitical connections grow by being used! Political skills and authority also grow with


use! The more one makes certain types of decisions, the easier it is to continue in thesame path, in part because repeated decisions re)uire no new thought, and in part becausepeople are less likely to resist or )uestion orders and re)uests they hae obeyed before!This phenomenon of resource e'pansion is ignored in the market model!

Another law of passion goerning the polis is the whole is greater than the sum of itsparts"! A protest march means something more than a few thousand people walkingdown the street! Most human actions change their meaning and impact when done inconcert or in )uantity! Another is things can mean *and therefore be+ more than onething at once!" *6ealth care e'penditures+ Ambiguity and symbolic meanings hae nohome in the market model of society, where eerything has its precise alue or cost!

Power

Power is the primary defining characteristic of a political society and is deried from allthe other elements! &t is a phenomenon of communities! &ts purpose is always to

subordinate indiidual self$interest to other interests$sometimes to other indiidual orgroup interests, sometimes to the public interest! &t operates through influence,cooperation, and loyalty! &t is based also on the strategic control of information! Andfinally, it is a resource that obeys the laws of passion rather than the laws of matter!

Any model of society must specify its source of energy, the force or forces that driechange! &n the market model, change is drien by e'change, which is in turn motiatedby self$interest! Through e'changes, the use and distribution of resources is changed! &nthe polis, change occurs through the interaction of mutually defining ideas and alliances!&deas about politics shape political alliances, and strategic considerations of building andmaintaining alliances in turn shape the ideas people espouse and seek to implement!

Stone, Chap. 1

To show how market models distort political life and to design an alternatie model, theauthor contrast the political community and a market model based society! The #reekterm, Polis, meaning city$state is used to embody the essence of the political society! &tdescribes an entity small enough to hae simple forms of organi%ation, yet large enoughto embody the elements of politics7

&n a market, the participants are competing for scarce resources and their goal is to make

a profit by28! Ac)uire goods at the lowest cost9! Conert raw goods to profitable finished goods

The market model is used because of the prealence in contemporary policy discussions!&n the market model, the participants,

8! strie to ma'imi%e their own self$interesta! Self$interest is described as ones own welfare as perceied by them


This ma'imi%ing of welfare stimulates people to be resourceful, creatie, cleer andproductie, and ultimately raises the leel of economic well$being of the society as awhole and this is assumed to be benefits to all of society!

The author discusses the difference between political community and culturalcommunity! A political community is a group of people who lie under the samepolitical rules and structure of goernance and share status as citi%ens! A culturalcommunity is a group of people who share a culture and draw their identities from acommon language, history, and traditions! The political community can include manydierse cultural communities, and policy politics is faced with the )uestion how tointegrate seeral cultural communities into a single political community withoutdestroying or sacrificing their identity and integrity!

&n the construction of a new polis model the author looks at the concepts of society to

contrast political community and the market model!

8! /nit of analysis, or who makes the determinationsa! /nder market it is the indiidual

/nlike the market, which starts with indiiduals and assumes no goals, preferences, orintentions other than those held by indiiduals, a model of the polis must assume bothcollectie will and collectie effort!

b! And in the polis, the community makes the determination

9! -hat are the motiations:a! &n market model, it is self$interest which dries the motiation

The author said, &ts important to note in regards to public interest that often people wantthings for their community that conflict with what they want for themseles *such aslower ta'es and good schools+

b! So &n polis, it is the public interest which seres self$interest!

;! Chief conflicta! &ndiiduals perceied welfare ersus anothers &ndiiduals perceied

welfareb! &n the polis it is Self$interest s public interest *cost of e'ternalities, use of

commons+Common problems are defined as situations where self$interest and public interest work

against each other! There are two types of common problems2 actions with priatebenefits entail a social cost *industrial waste into a lake+( and social benefits re)uirepriate sacrifices *school system re)uires ta'es+! 4ortunately, the ast gap between self$interest and public interest is bridged in the polis by some potent forces2 influence,cooperation, and loyalty! Actions, no less than ideas are influenced by others$through thechoices others hae made and the ones we e'pect them to make, by what they want us todo, and by what we think they e'pect us to do! More often than not, the author argues,our choices are conditional! *Striking worker, post office complaint+


=! >ature of collectie actiitya! MM competitionb! PM cooperation and competition

&n the polis model, cooperation is as important as competition for the following reasons!4irst, politics inole seeking allies and organi%ing cooperation in order to compete withopponents! Secondly, cooperation is essential to power&n the market, cooperation is usually described negatiely *collusion, price$fi'ing, insidertrading+ while in the polis it is described more positiely *coalition, alliance, union, party,support+!

?! criteria for decision$makinga! mm Ma' self interest and min cost &n the ideal market, a buyer will switch suppliers in response to a price or )ualitychange!

b! 5oyalty, ma' self$interest, promote public interest&n the polis, history counts for a lot( in the market, it counts for nothing! *&ts business notpersonal+

@! .uilding blocks of social actiona! Mm indiidualsb! Pm groups

.ecause of the powerful forces of influence, cooperation and loyalty, the groups andorgani%ations, rather than indiiduals are the building blocks of the polis!#roups are important in three ways24irst, people belong to institutions and organi%ations, their opinions are shaped byorgani%ations and they depend on organi%ations to represent their needs!Second, the author asserts, policy making is not only about soling public problems, butabout how groups are formed, split, and re$formed to achiee public purposes!Third, groups are important because decisions of the polis are collectie!

! nature of informationa! accurate, complete, aailable

b! where polis, tends to be, ambiguous, interpretie, incomplete, manipulated&n the ideal market, information is perfect, meaning it is accurate, complete and aailableto eeryone at no cost! &n the polis, by contrast, information is interpretie, incomplete,and strategically withheld! Correct information does e'ist, but in the politics, theimportant thing is what people make of such reports! &nterpretations are more powerfulthan facts! 4or this reason, much of political actiity is an effort to control suchinterpretation! *Think spin control+! &n the polis, information is neer complete! Secrecy


and reelation are tools of political strategy and information by its ery nature is aluedand aluable!

B! 6ow things work,a! 5aw of matter, resources are finite and diminish with use

b! 5aw of passion,One of the 5aws of Passion" is that passion feeds upon itself! 5ike passion, politicalresources are often enlarged or enhanced through use! Political skills and authority alsogrow with use! The more one makes certain types of decisions, the easier it is to continuein the same path, in part because repeated decisions re)uire no new thought, and in partbecause people are less likely to resist or )uestion orders and re)uests they hae obeyedbefore! This phenomenon of resource e'pansion is ignored in the market model!

Another law of passion goerning the polis is the whole is greater than the sum of itsparts"! A protest march means something more than a few thousand people walkingdown the street! Most human actions change their meaning and impact when done in

concert or in )uantity! Another is things can mean *and therefore be+ more than onething at once!" *6ealth care e'penditures+ Ambiguity and symbolic meanings hae nohome in the market model of society, where eerything has its precise alue or cost!

8! source of changea! material e'change and )uest to ma'imi%e own welfareb! ideas, persuasion, and alliances and pursuit of power, own welfare, and

public interest!

Control D Power is the primary defining characteristic of a political society and isderied from all the other elements!

8! &ts purpose is always to subordinate indiidual self$interest to others!9! &t operates through influence, cooperation, and loyalty!;! &t is based also on the strategic control of information!

Any model of society must specify its source of energy, the force or forces that driechange! &n the market model, change is drien by e'change, which is in turn motiatedby self$interest! Through e'changes, the use and distribution of resources is changed! &nthe polis, change occurs through the interaction of mutually defining ideas and alliances!&deas about politics shape political alliances, and strategic considerations of building andmaintaining alliances in turn shape the ideas people espouse and seek to implement!


Chapter 2 !"#ity

1ery policy issue inoles the distribution of something!"A distributie conflict is any conflict where e)uity is the goal!

The parado' of distributie problems21)uality may in fact mean ine)uality( e)ual treatment may re)uire une)ual treatment(and the same distribution may be seen as e)ual or une)ual, depending on ones point ofiew!" *see cake in class distribution pps!


Konathan CerasPSC@9;

!"#ality $ De%orah Stone

8! Political Science defined$ who gets what, when, and how"a! Jistributions are at the heart of public policy controersies9! Jistributie conflict

a! 1)uity is the goal for all sides, the conflict comes oer how the sidesenision the distribution of whateer is at issue

;! Parado' $ 1)uality may in fact mean ine)uality( e)ual treatment may re)uireune)ual treatment( and the same distribution may be seen as e)ual or une)ual,depending on ones point of iew!

!"#ality$ uniformity in distribution!"#ity$ distributions regarded as fair, een though they contain both e)ualitiesand ine)ualities

=! Challenges to distributie conflicta! -ho should count as a member of the class of recipientsb! Feleant internal diisions for distributing something and that these

diisions hae been ignoredc! Some ma0or diisions in society are releant to distributie e)uity and

that membership in a group based on these diisions should sometimesoutweigh indiidual characteristics in determining distribution

d! 1'panding the definitional boundaries of the item is always aredistributie strategy, because it calls for using the more narrowlydefined item to compensate for ine)ualities in a larger sphere

e! The switch from a standardi%ed alue of the item to a more customi%edalue

f! 4or many things in life, we are willing to accept an une)ual outcome solong as we know that the process was fair

?! The argument for 1)ualitya! Criteria of Process

i! Ac)uired fairly if28! Created newly or not formally held as property *inentions

or rights to own+9! Ac)uired by transfer *sale, gift, or inheritance+

b! 1nd$result concepti! Assumes that a 0ust distribution is one in which both the recipients

and items are correctly defined and each )ualified recipientreceies an e)ual share of each correctly defined item

c! 1nd$results look only at the end result and do not need any historical


information as to how the distribution came about@! Fawls defines the releant class if recipients as all citi%ens, and he defines the

releant items as social primary goodsa! Social primary goods are things that are ery important to people but are

created, shaped, and affected by social structure and political institutions

*&!e! power, opportunity, wealth, income, ciil rights, and libertiesb! >atural primary goods are things ery important to people but which,while affected by society, are less directly under its control *&!e!intelligence, strength, imagination, talent and good health

! Fawls approach looks to our innate sense of 0ustice as well as our fundamentalrationality and then deries principles of e)uity by asking us to deliberate aboutrules for a 0ust society without being biased by knowing our own situation *eil ofignorance+

Stone: Policy Paradox

Chapter &

1fficiency2

#etting the most out of a gien input

Achieing an ob0ectie for the lowest cost

The ratio between input and output, effort and results, e'penditure and income orcost and resulting benefit

Conflicts with 1fficiency2

-ho gets the benefits and bears the burdens of a policy:

6ow should we measure the alues and costs of a policy:

-hat mode of organi%ing human actiity is likely to yield the most efficientresults:

Trying to measure efficiency is like trying to pull oneself out of )uicksand without arope! There is no firm ground! Ob0ecties for public policy are forged in politicalconflict and are constantly changing not handed down on a stone tablet!

At the societal leel, efficiency is an ideal meant to guide how society chooses to spendits money or allocate its resources in order to get the most alue! 1fficiency is always acontestable concept!

Markets and 1fficiency2


The theory of markets says that as long as e'changes are both oluntary and fullyinformed, they lead to the goal of allocatie efficiency2 Fesources always moe ina direction that make people better off!

o 1ery e'change should lead to a situation in which the new holders get

more alue out of the resources than the old holders!

Challenges from the Market2

&n order for efficiency, there must be numerous buyers and sellers of anyresource, so that no one person or firm can influence the market price!

There must be full information about the aailable alternaties, so that e'changestruly result in the best situation for eeryone!

Jecisions and actions of parties to an e'change must not affect the welfare ofpeople who are not part of the e'change!

Fesources inoled in e'changes must be used indiidually and used up if theyare used at all!

Challenges from the Polis2 One can )uestion the possibility of purely oluntary e'changes due to the astly

une)ual distribution of income and wealth!

The market model re)uires accurate and complete information! .ut informationis always incomplete, interpretie and deliberately controlled!

&ndiidual actions hae side effects on others! To ignore side effects, or topretend that e'ternalities are a defect in a miniscule area of human affairs, is toundermine the ability of public policy to achiee efficiency in any importantsense!

The 1)uality$1fficiency Trade$off2

1)uality eliminates the differential rewards necessary to motiate people to beproductie!

To maintain e)uality goernment must continuously interfere with indiidualchoices about how to use resources, and in doing so, it curbs usefule'perimentation and productie innoation!

To maintain e)uality re)uires a large administratie machinery that uses upresources but is not itself productie!

Cartoon *pg ;+-elfare doesnt work, because it gies poor people an incentie to stay poor3"

&nstead, lets gie the wealthy a huge ta' cut! Then the poor will hae an incentieto become millionaires!"

-here labor is well organi%ed and shares significant political power, where inother words, there is someone to articulate the self$interest of the non$rich,"economic polices tend to reconcile e)uality with efficiency! The idea that the twoare incompatible is a politically useful myth for the rich and powerful!


Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making, De%orah Stone

Chapter &: !fficiency

1fficiency is broadly defined as achieing the goal of getting the most out of a gieninput or achieing an ob0ectie for the lowest cost *cost being monetary, effort, time, etc!+

1fficiency can be measured in simplified ratios of input2 output( effort2 results(e'penditures2 incomes( or cost2 resulting benefit!

There are different ideas of what is efficient for people who are in different positions!The chapter presents the e'ample of a library where different iews engage the goal ofimproing the efficiency of the library! Outside scholars iewing the daily operation ofthe library 0udged the wasteful staffing positions as taking money away that could be

used to increase the si%e of the librarys collection! 4or these scholars, the si%e of thesupply determined the leel of efficiency! Other iews from the community and from thelibrary staff )uestioned if supply can be used to measure efficiency! Some preferredserice oer the si%e of the collection, as others placed their preference in the amount oftime re)uired to use the library and its leel of user friendliness!

As one can see, it is difficult to determine what specifically determines efficiency fordifferent situations! Certain )uestions need to be asked2

8+ -ho determines the correct output or ob0ectie:9+ 6ow do we alue compare multiple ob0ecties:;+ 6ow do different outputs affect different people and groups:


materials into finished goods( money into labor( finished goods into money+! Galues ofe'changes also transform, as the market price of a good *uniersal price+ is sub0ect to thealue that an indiidual is willing to pay for it! As e'changes are done by indiiduals,efficiency must also be determined sub0ectiely through an indiiduals perceiedwelfare!

Challenges from the Market

The market can face many failures which affect the welfare of the society! 6ere are somepossible failures in the market2

Monopolies2 markets need numerous buyers and sellers so that no one can influence themarket price! -ithout these conditions, monopolies can control the price! &n welfareeconomics, monopolies are iewed as natural and unaoidable due to the infeasibility ofcertain serices *e!g! utility serices+! .est option if these situations, is to accept the

monopoly and rely on goernment regulation to control and negatie effects!

5ack of &nformation2 market e'changes re)uire fully informed indiiduals, somethingthat is difficult to ac)uire! Some people may be unwilling to proide all information as itmay hurt their chances of an e'change *such as possible side effects+! Some indiidualsmay not be able to understand eerything on a certain issue as well! .est option for thisproblem is try to inform the public as much as possible *e!g! nutrition labels+!

1'ternalities2 when people outside of the e'change are affected by the e'change! Thereare seeral options to attempt to alleiate this problem, but best option is to consider allpossible effects of any transaction!

Collectie goods2 when resources are not used indiidually or are not used up at all! Thistype of failure inoles priate sacrifice for social benefits *e!g! national defense+!Collectie goods are determined to be non$correctable where collectie action is needed!

Challenges from the Polis

-hen looking at the market theory, one needs to ask2 can a society built around a systemof oluntary e'changes produce efficiency: This )uestion brings up the issue ofhappiness and satisfaction for different people! -hile the theory states that oluntary

e'change will bring about happiness and satisfaction, others argue that much of theactiity that people care about does not come from the world of e'change!

Seeral problems in the market, due to societys interaction with it, )uestions the iabilityof the market! 4or e'ample, one needs to )uestion the idea of pure oluntarism inmarket! -ith the unclear line between cooperation and coercion in many situations,oluntary e'change maybe an impossible re)uirement to meet! Manipulation inside themarket also occurs, as buyers and consumers are constantly influenced by sellers in a


serice economy! The une)ual distribution of income and wealth also hurts oluntarism,as some hae no choice but to work where they can so they can surie! Other problems,such as contract manipulation with long$term relationships and unforeseeable long$termconse)uences inhibit the outcome of efficiency as well!

&ndiidual welfare is influenced by others *being comparable to those around you as wellas sympathy towards others+, and by the comple' actiities and decisions of thecommunity! -hile the market theory stresses indiiduality, not eerything is based off ofthe indiidual! The lielihood and security of the community in which an indiidual is amember from is ery important!

1)uality$1fficiency Trade$Off

1)uality and efficiency is thought to be a %ero$sum trade off where the more one has, theless another will hae! 1)uality is iewed as a barrier to efficiency, as it remoes

motiation for higher production! &f eeryone will always be e)ual, then there would beno desire for anyone to moe ahead! &f there is no desire to work harder, then the societywill be less productie *i!e! less efficient+! Also, constant goernment interference isre)uired to keep the society e)ual and goernment interference re)uires a largeadministratie machine that wastes resources which could be used in a more productiemanner!

&t is not clear if these arguments are accurate! The arguments rely on opinions anddeceptie wording! -hile some policy makers argue for some redistribution of resourcesfor better e)uality, no one is feasibly arguing for a complete redistribution for totale)uality! -hile policy makers seek some kind of trade off between e)uality and

efficiency, other methods can be found to motiate businesses at the same timeattempting some method of e)uali%ing distribution!

Chapter 4: Security

Security in the broad sense as need; things that should be available because they areessential.

Difficult to define objectively

Dimensions of Need

What is minimally necessary for survival.


Relates to specified amounts of food, amounts of eapons for defense, income to

function

o !hings that are absolute. "uantifiable

#sing food as an e$ample%

o &inds of food, as opposed to standard food 'liver and lard(

o

Societal association or status 'Dinner at Wynn )as *egas vs. +urger &ing drivethru(

o ultural 'e$. -es not consuming pigs(

o asting in cultures

Symbolic factors add to the absolute aspect of brea/ing don hat is minimallynecessary into easy to handle components.

0f e accept the symbolic dimension of need as important, thensecurity means protecting people1s identities as ell as theire$istence. 2.34

!his added dimension to need ma/es it a relativeidea as ell. 5llos one people in a group to compare themselves to each other 'absolute standard(

and people in other groups as ell 'relative standard(

So far, there are to dimensions of need%6. 5bsolute

7. Relative

5 third dimension is the direct vs. instrumental vie of need. Direct% 5ctions that can ta/e place no to counter current problems

0nstrumental% 5ctions that can contribute to future gains

o 5n investment for the future

8$. 8ducation

5 fourth dimension is protection against hat might happen 2olicies enacted to allo for more effective action against the un/non future

o 8$. 9andatory seatbelts in cars, licenses for pilots, safety re:uirements for

bridges and dams, prenatal healthcare

inal dimension% Relational needs 5 sense of belonging to something; need for nontangible satisfaction

!hese five aspects are not stepping stones to one another, but alternative vies. 9a/es it difficult to define hat security should mean for a hole society of uni:ue

individual needs

Needs in the Polis

With so many different perspectives, the society ma/es decisions on hat policies topursue by collectively validating claims for need

2ublic needs are those needs the society recogni


8$amples. 9edieval -eish communities and practices that

alloed for the necessary practices of the religion; 5thens and

their military and festivals

!he provision of public needs can create a sense of loyalty in turn, helping to strengthen

the society.

0n ma/ing claims for societal needs, the Stone gives three e$amples of ho a society canunderstand hat is needed.

6. =eeds e$pressed as decisions related to consumption

a. 5ction ill be used to pursue those needs7. =eopluralism

a. =ot all needs ill be recogni. 9ar$ista. !he fe poerful control hat the needs of the society should be and the

majority of society do not /no hat they really need

The Security-Efficiency Trade-off5rgument% 0f people have hat they need or feel secure, they ill not or/ as hard andill be a drain on society

ounterarguments%6. Selffulfilling prophecy

a. !he argument is proven true, not because it is necessarily true, but because thoseho are receiving the security are forced to consistently prove their hardship due

to eligibility testsi. !his is an argument for universal coverage as it uses the policies

instituted during the ?reat Depression and lifetime employment policies

in -apan as better alternatives to proving ones need for aid7. 9easurement of productivity

a. 9athematical errors in measurementi. Related to greater staffing that, accountingise, loers productivity and

has no use, but increases the delivery of :uality service

>. #nillingness to incur losses in order to gaina. 2reservation of jobs and industries that could be lost due to more efficient sectors

pushing out obsolete or inefficient processesi. 5uthor suggests countering the loss of jobs ith training and relocation

6. +ut, again, community, pride, and belonging issues arise

?iven these different dimensions of need@security in a society, any oneperspective ill not be sufficient to address the needs of a society. 0nstead, it ill ta/e amultiperspective approach to effectively tac/le these issues.

Policy Paradox: Ch. '


The challenges of defining Security are similar to those of defining 1)uity and1fficiency! Security here generally refers to how well the goernment is able to proidefor our essential needs! Stone addresses three main areas in this chapter!

(Di)ensions of need*

To begin, the basic definition of need is things that are necessary for physical surial orthings that are minimally necessary *e!g! the poerty line with regards to income+!

8+! >eeds are difficult to define in ob0ectie and countable terms when you add symbolicmeanings *e!g! food and its ritual significance+! Symbolic meanings weight humandifferences, whereas with the e'ample of food its easier to find e)uity in the basic,material alue *at least in terms of biochemistry+!

>eed is not a biological )uestion necessarily, but a political one!

9+! Absolute need and relatie need

4i'ed or )uantifiable needs s! relatie to a social standard *e!g! defense policy $ where acountry will deelop its national security measures in relation to other nations that areperceied as threats!+

;+! &nstrumental needenables people to moe beyond basic surial needs, e!g! educatione!g! steel industry in the /S *direct need2 import restrictions are necessary to presere itsproduct against cheaper foreign competition H instrumental need2 restrictions gie theindustry more time to deelop technologies and cut costs in the future+

ote that the needs discussed are largely intangible and that the dimensions of needs"lead to differing concepts about security!

5 Dimensions Recap: Material vs. symbolic / absolute vs. relative / direct vs.instrumental / present vs. future / physical vs. communal

(+eeds in the polis*


Political figures decide which needs are real and legitimate I difficult to do as we haeacknowledged that there are seeral different definitions and perspecties!

Public needs come into play here I needs a particular society determines are legitimatebased on cultural considerations, e!g! Public needs in the /S today2 safety research and

deelopment s! immediate aid for the homeless or mental health serices! Public needsare always disputed.

Claims$making about needs $ ; ariations2

8+! >eeds e'pressed in consumption decisions *consumer demand+

9+! >eopluralism iew I needs are not e)ual and obtaining them depends largely onpolitical power

;+! Mar'ist tradition I those who control the means of production decide which needs are

most important( the subordinate classes may not een know what they really need

(The Sec#rity!fficiency Tradeoff*

Are security and efficiency compatible *or incompatible+:

; points to consider2

8+! Security can undermine productiitye!g! welfare system diminishes motiation by creating a cycle of dependence

9+! 6ow we measure productiityA standardi%ed unit of measurement is needed, especially when comparing differentindustries!1!g! More people and serices are needed in some industries opposed to others I e!g! theserice sector s! the manufacturing sector! Productiity can be reported low in theserice sector, due to how it is defined, but these comparisons are largely inaccurate!

;+! The progress argumentJisinestment leads to inestment I the auto industry in the /S might fail, but there willbe growth in other areas I and if you choose to protect a failing industry it may lead toinefficiency!

To aoid some of the related problems, we should consider better 0ob retraining andrelocation programs!


Policy Paradox

Chapter : -i%erty

The parado' of liberty is that the idea of America is consumed with freedom and indiidual rightsand yet laws and policies of all kinds necessarily restrict human behaior! The )uestion posed bythis policy parado' is when it is acceptable to restrict liberty!

5ike all the other parado'es presented by Stone in this book she discusses attempts to simplifythe )uestion of when to restrict liberty and then presents the roadblocks to these clear cutdistinctions!

Paradox of -i%erty

Order and safety in a society re)uires rules, laws and policies! 1en in a free society these thingsare necessary to maintain the greatest e'tent of freedom possible! Therefore, freedom for societyre)uires the restriction of indiidual liberties!

Atte)pts to Set Standardied Criteria

/ohn St#art Mills

The restriction of li%erty is 0#stified %#t sho#ld %e #sed as little as possi%le.

' ele)ents:

8! when it preents harm to others

9! the restriction is based on cases where there is a distinguishable line between actions thatharm others and those that dont!

;! recogni%e that liberty is an indiidual concern and should not be restricted on the groupleel

Problems with this classification2$ actions that cause harm can be dealt with in many different ways that interfere with

different people and hae different leels of interference$ Mills presents his ideas as if there is only one way to preent each harm and the effects

of this policy can be weighed against the leel of restriction and then ealuated$ 6arm is sub0ectie, restrictions to preent harm to one group can cause harm to another

Types of in0ury that can preented by policy *at the cost of interference or restricting liberty+8! Physical in0ury

a! Jirect and indirectb! &ntentional and accidental

LShould policy be created to preent accidental harm or there too much ambiguity towarrant the restriction of liberty:9! Material damages I loss or destruction of property


;! Aesthetic damages I enironmental harm, graffiti, priacy inasions, creating adisturbance, etc!

5iberty outside of the acuum&n the real world of the polis" that Stone discusses, the liberty ersus in0ury dilemma is more

difficult!8! liberty is not really all about the indiiduals because people are part of a community$ This changes the picture because it introduces new harms and new considerations

o Structural harms that preent a community from working properly

o Accumulatie harms I one action is insignificant but as more people engage in

that action the harm becomes more pronouncedo &ndiidual harm that causes group harm

9! Policies and laws will cause and preent harm indiidually and to groups in thecommunity! -e allow different groups to cause harm and protect other groups based ontheir position and roles in the community!

;! 6arms are often allowed, een when they are foreseeable and e'pected, to protect freemarkets and the soereignty of the goernment

o to approach co))#nity and indi3id#al har)s thro#gh policy

Two Jilemmas28! Jependence2 Security from harm makes people and communities dependent but it allows themto seek out needs, take risks, and make choices!

$ Promote self$sufficiency so the goernment does not hae to curtail liberty throughdependency *Stone argues that self$sufficiency is an illusion and unattainable+$ liberty for those who can secure it for themseles$ create policies that ensure security and maintain rights through further legislatie action *ie2informed consent laws+$ One problem with dependency created by legislation and policy is that some groups can bedepried of rights based on their group status *must be 8 to ote+

9! Paternalism2 &s it the responsibility, or een the proper role, of the goernment to protectpeople from themseles:

$ can you consent to being assaulted or enslaed: $ paternalism may be 0ustified in certain circumstances, especially when, under normal

conditions one would not engage in a gien behaiorL paternalism is 0ustified wheneer a rational indiidual would consent in adance torestrain himself in some way!"$ howeer, what a rational" person would do in a gien situation is sub0ectie

-i%erty or !"#ality4

&n order to obtain perfect e)uality you would hae to seerely restrict the liberty of those with

resources to the benefit of those without resources!

&ntroduces the positie iew of liberty I that liberty is more simply the freedom choice ratherthan the absence of interference!

$ liberty increases when indiidual control increaseso there is a limited range of actions oer which you can hae control

o resources are needed to understand options

power, wealth, and knowledge are the resources needed


therefore, in the positie iew liberty is restricted when ine)uality inresources e'ists

positie iews of liberty also restricts infringement of liberty to thosecases in which human control is inoled

&n essence Stone argues that redistribution of wealth actually increases liberty by e)uali%ingresources and creating human choice for people who may not otherwise hae choices! She claimsthat liberty e'ists in degrees, so minor restrictions of some indiidual liberty could astly increaseanothers liberty! 4inally, she claims that compelled cooperation to get society to addressproblems does not create a liberty$e)uality trade$off! Stone does not see a problem withremoing liberty from those considered wealthy" to possibly increase the freedom of othersbecause she places the liberty of certain groups in a higher priority than the liberty of others!Kohn Stuart Mills and others who take the negatie" iew of liberty would disagree with thisealuation of what, e'actly, constitutes liberty!

Chapter $ -i%ertyThe Parado' of 5iberty I 4lag burning e'ample!L4reedom is ambiguous and comple', 0ust as other goals and alues that motiatepolitics!&! 5iberty

A! Jilemma of liberty arises in public policy and the )uestion of when thegoernment can

legitimately interfere with choices and actiities of citi%ens!.! Kohn Stuart Mill2 The only time a goernment can e'ercise power oer a

citi%ens liberty,against his will, is to preent harm to others!

L&n Kohn Stuart Mills e'ample, the indiidual reigns supreme!8! 1lements of Tradition in Mills way of thinking2

$8st2 There is a single criterion by which we can 0udge whetherinterference with indiidual action is 0ustified I harm to others!$9nd2 Predicated on the possibility of clear distinction betweenbehaior that affects other people and behaior that does not!$;rd2 Sees liberty as an attribute of indiiduals, not social roles orgroups or organi%ations!$


#. $irth control pills can be harmful if used by a smo"er.

%hould smo"ers be prohibited from ta"ing birth control

pills?

L1en when an action is known to produce harms in others,

there are many possible ways of preenting harm, each ofwhich interferes with different types of liberties fordifferent sets of people!

1'! Some chemicals used in manufacturing areknown to cause in0ury to fetuses! Should employerse'clude fertile women of childbearing years from 0obsinoling e'posure to chemicals:

ii. &aterial Harms

. An activity may cause loss of income (e!. %lander)

#. Actions may cause loss of resources (e!. 'ec"less

driving can damage anothers property)

a. How far do we want to go? s there a difference

between actions that cause physical damage to

property and those that destroy mar"et value of

property?

b. *ven material losses have different degrees of

urgency and reality that might be considered

relevant for decisions about liberty.

iii. Amenity *ffects

. An activity that causes aesthetic harms (e!. %atellite

dishes on rooftops)

#. *nvironmental harms might be considered amenity

harms rather than material (actions that change the

character of landscape or destroy wildlife habitats).

+. ,isturbances of -uiet (blaring radios)

All are e!amples of policy areas where

government limits certain activities in order tomitigate amenity harms.

iv. *motional and Psychological harms

. Place in public sphere government as"ed to restrict

behavior of one set of people to prevent psychological

damages to another (e!. /hree &ile sland)


#. %piritual and &oral Harms0

a. &ill was adamant about the idea that religious

belief should never be a permissible ground for

government regulation of behavior.

b. Harms to others are not ob1ective phenomena2

but are political claims which are granted more

or less legitimacy by the government.

c. 3laims based on physical harm are easier to

assert successfully than claims based on

material harms etc. (its a hierarchy)

i. %ignificant aspect of political strategy

is thus to move claims from one

category to another in order to gain

legitimacy.

&&&! 5iberty in the Polis. /he polis is a community with some collective vision of public interest2 thus

the liberty of individuals is also limited by obligations to the community.

a. n the polis2 the sphere of compulsion based on the interests of

society (not individuals) is large.

b. Above all else2 societies re-uire their members to obey the law2

regardless of whether violations cause harm to someone else.

i. *!. A driver will be punished for running a red light even if no

one is harmed.

ii. &eant to protect social order2 not individuals.

#. %tructural Harms effects on the ability of a community to function as a

community.

+. Accumulative Harm some actions are not harmful when one person does it2

but when a number of people do it2 it can be devastating (e!. Wal"ing on

grass2 dumping sewage2 ta"ing money out of the ban").

4. Harm to a group of that results from harm to individuals

a. Applicant is denied a 1ob based on race2 it affects his family2 his

community2 others may not try to get a 1ob of that caliber2 children

denied emotional and financial security2 etc.

5. Public officials and $usiness *!ecutives


a. 6overnments are far less restrictive of these roles because they need

more freedom to do their 1obs.

b. %overeign mmunity0 government agencies2 officials2 employees

cannot be held liable for certain "inds of damages they causes (e!.

Police car damage during a chase).

c. Whether the liberties of officials are greater or smaller than those of

ordinary citi7ens2 the "ey point is that liberty in the polis is to a

significant e!tent an attribute of roles rather than individuals.

8. 3orporate Actors

a. /o thin" of liberty only as it applies to individuals misses the

significant political -uestion of the freedom accorded to corporate

actors2 which affect individuals 1ust as much.

b. 6overnment Agencies can perpetrate both harms to the communityand harms to the individual.

i. *!. ncreased monitoring and record sharing may create a

sense of distrust in the community.

ii. $ecause corporate actors can have far greater impact on

individuals and community than the actions of other

individuals2 a theory of liberty must consider corporate actors

as well.

iii. ,istinct legal culture in America regarding role of government

in restricting individual liberties to promote social cohesion2

security2 and solidarity (law and morality are separate spheres9

e!. $aby drowning).

&G! The 5iberty$Security Trade$Off2 Can a society proide its members both liberty andsecurity:

. /he dilemma of ,ependence0

a. Without the security of having ones basic needs met2 a person cannot

ma"e free choices. :n the other hand2 security creates dependence

(old city machine bosses2 for e!ample).

i. %ecurity is necessary for liberty and yet undermines it.

b. f public policy promoted self;sufficiency instead of dependence2 then

people would not become dependent and suffer the inevitable

constraints on liberty that accompany dependence.


c. &odern democracies attempt to reconcile security and liberty by

creating formal political rights for the dependent.

#. /he dilemma of Paternalism0

a. %hould the government prevent people from acting voluntarily in ways

that harm themselves?

b. &ill0 never2 unless it is referring to slavery.

i. $y entering into slavery a person gives up his liberty and

protecting individual liberty is the very purpose of prohibiting

paternalism in the first place.

. Are there other situations in which a persons freedom

to choose should be denied in order to enable him to

have other choices in the future? (e!. Assisted suicide).

#. Problem0 how do we decide what is oophole0 e!clusion of whole categories of people from rights and

liberties

i. 3hildren and mentally incompetent are usually thought proper

ob1ects of paternalism2 as well as


a. 'ange of issues or problems over which one can e!ercise control.

b. /he resources2 both material and non material2 that enable one to

envision alternatives and carry out ones will.

c. nder the positive definition2 power2 wealth and "nowledge are

prere-uisites to liberty because they are sources of capacity to

e!ercise control.

i. n this sense2 liberty is defined by degree (those with more

power2 wealth and "nowledge have more liberty).

d. >in"s social and individual freedom.

e. ssue with the positive definition is not what "inds of harms should be

prevented2 but what constraints on individual freedom are within the

realm of human agency.

L.ecomes eident as we moe from physical harms to abstract harms that harms arepolitical claims asserted by one set of interests against another!

Policy Paradox $ Chapter 5 (Sy)%ols*

Symbolic representation is the essence of problem definition in politics! According to the

author, a symbol is anything that stands for something else7The meaning of a symbol is notintrinsic to it, but is inested in it by the people who use it!" Symbols which shapes ourperceptions and suspendsN skepticism" are what make symbols political deices! This makessymbols a means of influence and control, een though it is often hard to tell with symbolse'actly who is influencing whom!

There are four aspects of symbolic representation that are especially important in thedefinition of policy problems2 narratie stories, synecdoches, metaphors, and ambiguity!


Stories

Jefinitions of policy problems usually hae narratie structure *a beginning, middle, and end+inoling change or transformation!

.rief Outline2 >arraties with heroes and illains, problems and solutions, tensions and

resolutions! The most common are2

Stories of decline, including the story of stymied progress and the story of progress$

is$only$an$illusion!

Stories of control, including the conspiracy story and the blame$the$ictim story!

A6 Story of Decline

a! &n the beginning, things were pretty good! .ut they got worse! &n fact, rightnow, they are nearly intolerable! Something must be done!" /sually ends with aprediction of crisis2 /nless such$and$such is done, disaster will follow!"

i! Feal -orld 1'amples2 poerty rates are rising, crime rates are higher,import penetration in /!S! markets is greater, enironmental )uality isworse!

ariations on a !tory of Decline

A+ !tymied Progressa! &n the beginning things were terrible! Then things got better, thanks to a

certain someone! .ut now somebody or something is interfering with ourhero, so things are going to get terrible again!"

i! Feal -orld 1'amples2 Automakers tell a story of how minimumwage legislation, mandatory health benefits, and occupational safetyregulation threaten to destroy Americas once$preeminent position inthe world economy! The Pentagon tells how budget constraints haeundermined our once$dominant military position!

.+ "hange#is#only#an#illusiona! ou always thought things were getting worse *or better+! .ut you were

wrong! 5et me show you some eidence that things are in fact going in theopposite direction! Jecline *or improement+ was an illusion!"

i! Feal -orld 1'amples2 Cancer patients are not really liing longer(these statistics" are only because we can now diagnose cancer atearlier stages! Child abuse is not really on the rise, it only appears tohae increased because we hae more public awareness, morelegislation, and more reporting!

C6 Story of Helplessness and Control

a! The situation is bad! -e hae always belieed that the situation was out ofour control, something we had to accept but could not influence! >ow,howeer, let me show you that in fact we can control things!"

i! Feal -orld 1'ample2 Cancer, preiously thought to strike ictimsunpredictably, now turns out to be related to diet, smoking, andchemicals I all things humans can control!

ariations on !tory of $elplessness and "ontrol


%& "onspiracy

a! &ts plot moes us from the realm of fate to the realm of control, but it claimsto show that all along control has been in the hands of a few who hae used itto their benefit and concealed it form the rest of us!

i! Feal -orld 1'ample2 Falph >aders famous crusade against

automobile manufacturers was a story that conerted car accidentsinto eents controllable through the design of cars, and eenwillingly accepted by automakers!

'& 'lame#the#victim

a! &t moes us from the realm of fate to the realm of control, but locates controlin the ery people who suffer the problem!

i! Feal -orld 1'amples2 the poor are poor because they seek instantpleasures instead of inesting, Third -orld countries are poorbecause they borrow too eagerly and allow their citi%ens to lie tooe'traagantly, women are raped because they ask for it"!

-hat all these stories of control hae in common is their assertion that there is choice!They choice may belong to society as a whole, to certain elites, or to ictims, but thedrama in the story is always achieed by the conersion of a fact of nature into adeliberate human decision!

Synecdoche

.rief Outline2 A small part of a policy problem is used to represent the wholefor e'ample, thehorror story!

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a whole is represented by one of its parts2 Tenthousand feet moed down Pennsylania Aenue toward the -hite 6ouse!" This form of

symbolism is ery common in politics, where e'amples are offered up as typical instances" of alarger problem! These typical cases then define the entire problem and frame the policy response!

Feal -orld 1'ample2 The welfare )ueen" has become the dominant representation of thewelfare problem! She is a mother of many children who has been on the rolls for ten or twentyyears, and has adopted welfare as a way of life! &n fact, only about a fifth of current welfarerecipients hae been on the rolls for ten years or more! So, a reform that is targeted to the long$term welfare recipient, then, will only affect a small part of the welfare population, and a smallpart of the welfare problem!

(he $orror !tory2 Politicians or interest groups deliberately choose one outlandish incident torepresent the unierse of cases, and then use that e'ample to build support for changing an entire

rule or policy that is addressed to the larger unierse!

Feal -orld 1'amples2 The early 8BB=, the 8< thCongress rush to dismantle much of the safetyand enironmental regulation of the @s and s, so antiregulation crusaders claimed theOccupational Safety and 6ealth Administration had abolished the tooth fairy *by re)uiringdentists to discard any baby teeth the pulled+, and had re)uired all buckets to be built with a holein the bottom of them! These absurdities could be counted on to create hostility to regulation, butthey grossly distorted the actions of the agency! -hat OS6A did re)uire was that dentists protectthemseles and their assistants from blood$borne pathogens when handling teeth *not the disposal


of baby teeth+, and = babies drown yearly by falling into buckets, so OS6A suggestedthat thebuckets be redesigned to tip oer if a child fell in, but left it up to the industry to make aoluntary effort!

Synecdoche can suspend our critical thinking with its powerful poetry! The strategy of focusingon part of a problem, particularly one that can be dramati%ed as a horror story, thus is likely to

lead to skewed policy! et it is often a politically useful strategy because it takes a larger issueand presents a single, manageable chunk for the public to identify with!

Metaphors

A metaphor is an implied comparison! &t works by using a word that denotes one kind of ob0ect todescribe another!

.rief Outline2 A likeness is asserted between one kind of policy problem and another! Commonmetaphors in politics include organisms, natural laws, machines, tools, containers, disease, andwar!

)iving *rganisms2 Communities or groups are said to hae a life of their own" andorgani%ations hae goals"! To see something as an organism is to assert that it is natural",which in turn implies that howeer it is, that is the way it is supposed to be"! &ts often arguedthat tampering with any part of an organism *community, neighborhood, family+ will upset adelicate balance, destroy the whole, or interfere with nature!

+atural )aws: Many famous social scientists hae claimed to discoer laws that goern the socialworld and that set limits, and een total barriers, to the changes humans can bring about throughdeliberate policy! The most influential law" of social behaior is Charles Murrays law ofunintended rewards"! This law states that Qany social transfer increases the net ale of being in thecondition that prompted the transfer! &n simple 1nglish, this law states that helping people whohae problems *poerty, illness, homelessness, or drug addiction+ especially giing them money

or serices, actually rewardsthem for haing the problem and creates an incentivefor them tostay poor, sick, homeless, etc! -hile no one in -ashington or state capitals is going to )uoteMurrays 5aw, the e)uation helping hand e)uals incentie to be needy" is the driing force intodays social policy debates!

Machines and mechanical devices: Our Constitution is deried from a notion that a politicalsystem is a machine with working parts that had to be kept in order" and in balance"! Thus,checks and balances" are central to our way of thinking about how political power should beallocated! The metaphor of balance implies a story about the decline from balance to imbalanceand prescribes addition of something to one side or subtraction from the other!

edges and inclines:#oernment regulation is often portrayed as a wedge2 once they get their

foot in the door, the regulators will be pushing through with more and more! The image of thewedge suggests that a seemingly small beginning can hae enormous leerage! The Qslipperyslope argument is a part of this metaphor!

"ontainers2 The idea of a fi'ed space! The problem might be that a space is oerfilled, thusMe'ican workers spill oer" the borders into the /nited States! The solutions to the problemsare aried, but appropriate to the metaphor! One can drain off" some of the contents of thecontainer, by appointing disgruntled employees to a low$leel management position where their


loyalties will be split! Or you can allow a gradual release of pressure by letting angry citi%ensblow off steam" at town hall meetings!

Disease: Cults, communism, crime *or any other condemned behaior+ is said to spread"!Members and adocates infect" others with their ideas *the #ay Agenda"+! Teenage pregnancyand high school dropout rates are iewed as an epidemic"! Jisease metaphors imply a story

about deterioration and decline and about struggle for control between humans and nonhumangerms"! The disease label discredits opponents and implies a moral rightness of treating them asless than human! The most perasie disease metaphor is social policy us the image of the poorand disadantaged I who hae their problems because of personal issues and deficiencies!

ar:This is ingrained in policy language! -e declare war on poerty", inasion of priacy",and go on campaigns" against drunk driing! -hen something is portrayed as an inasion, theinader is foreign, and therefore not a citi%en whose rights hae to be respected or whose life is tobe alued!

>ames and labels are used to create associations that lend legitimacy and attract support to acourse of action! Symbolic deices are especially persuasie and emotionally compelling because

their story line is hidden and their sheer poetry is often stunning! 4or these reasons, it is worthcultiating some skill in recogni%ing symbols and )uestioning their assumptions by asking2 -hatis the underlying narratie: Joes it make sense: Joes the metaphor tell a different story from theone the author purports to tell: Joes the metaphor seem to obiate the need for eidence, or doesit bias the kind of information opponents might bring to bear on a conflict: Joes a symbol offer apig in a poke", and might we want to in)uire into substance before lending support to thesymbol:

Ambiguity

The most important feature of all symbols is their ambiguity! A symbol can mean two *or more+things simultaneously2 religious freedom" means organi%ed ocal prayer in public schools to

some people and absolutely no prayer in public schools to others!

.rief Outline2 The ability of statements, eents, and e'periences to hae more than one meaning!Ambiguity is the glue" of politics! &t allows people to agree on laws and policies because theycan read different meanings into the words!

Ambiguity enables the transformation of indiidual intentions and actions into collectie resultsand purposes! -ithout it, cooperation and compromise would be far more difficult! &t allowsleaders to aggregate support from different )uarters for a single policy!

&t allows policy makers to placate both sides in a conflict by giing the rhetoric to one side andthe decision to the other"!

Feal -orld 1'ample2 a president might succeed in unifying adocates and opponents of foreignmilitary interention by asking for a congressional mandate allowing him to send troops only ifAmerican interests are threatened"!

Concl#sion


Policy stories are tools of strategy! Policy makers often create problems as a conte't for theactions they want to take! This is not to say that they actually cause harm and destruction so theywill hae something to do, but that they represent the world in such a way as to make themseles,their skills, and their faorite course of action necessary!

7#tline forPolicy ParadoxC.5: Sy)%ols

Symbolic representation is the essence of problem definition in politics!

A symbol is anything that stands for something else," and that meaning is

collectiely created!

Symbols shape our perceptions and are thus a means of influence and control, as well

as political deices!

There are four types of symbolic representation that are especially important in the

definition of policy problems2

8. +arrati3e Stories

Tell how the world works and proide a promise of resolution for scary

problems!o Policy problems are similar to stories in that they2 hae a

beginning, middle, and end, hae heroes, illains, and innocentictims, and often pose eil s! good!

o &n policy making, what appears as conflict oer details, is really

disagreement abut the fundamental story!o The most common types of stories used in policy are2

1. Stories of Decline

.asis2 &n the beginning, things were pretty good! .ut then they got

worse! &n fact, right now, they are nearly intolerable! Something must bedone!"

1'emplifies a crisis situation and warns unless this is done7disaster will

follow! &t is a prediction of doom *Gery Common+!A. Stories of indered Progress

.asis2 &n the beginning things were terrible! Then things got better,

thanks to a certain someone! .ut now somebody or something isinterfering with our hero, so things are going to get terrible again!"

This is often told by eery group that wants to resist regulation!

1'! -hen the AMA was fighting goernment cost$containment efforts,

they reminded people about the days of plagues, T., high infantmortality, etc! and warned that new goernment restrictions would undoall the progress that had been made!

9. Stories of (Change is only an 8ll#sion*

.asis2 ou always thought things were getting worse *or better+! .ut you

were wrong! 5et me show you some eidence that things are in fact goingin the opposite direction! Jecline *or improement+ was simply all anillusion!"


1'! Giolence and corruption throughout the world are not really on the

rise! They only appear to hae increased because we hae more publicawareness, more legislation, and more reporting in the media of thesetopics!

2. Stories of elplessness and Control

.asis2 The situation is bad! -e hae always belieed that the situationwas out of our control, something we had to accept but could notinfluence! >ow, howeer, let me show you that in fact we can controlthings!"

Stories about control sere to speak to the fundamental problem of liberty

in this country, mainly, they force us to ask )uestions regarding to whate'tent do we actually control our own life conditions and destinies:

Politicians use this because what had formerly been iewed as random,

accidental, natural, or a twist of fate, is now alleged to be amenable tochange due to human agents of interention! These stories often proideheroes!

A. Stories of Conspiracy

.asis2 &ts plot moes us from the realm of fate to the realm of control, but

it claims to show that control thus far has been in the hands of a few whohae used it to their benefit!

These stories always reeal that harm has been deliberately caused or

knowingly tolerated, and they end with a call to wrest control from thefew who benefit at the e'pense of many!

1'! Oil companies!

9. Stories that 9la)e the icti)

.asis2 &t also moes us from the realm of fate to the realm of control, but

locates control in the ery people who suffer the problem!

This story often ends with ictims haing to reform their own faultybehaior!

1'! The poor are poor because they seek instant pleasures instead of using

their time to work hard and inest their money efficiently!Oerall, policy stories use many literary deices to lead the audience to a course of actionand people must be aware of these tactics in order to be able to make somewhat thoughtfulchoices and decisions!

88. Synecdoches

These are figures of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole!

&n politics, such symbolism is ery common, where certain e'amples are

offered up as typical instances of a larger problem! -e often make policies based on e'amples belieed to be representatie

of a larger unierse!

Politicians or interest groups often use 6orror Stories," where they

deliberately choose one outlandish incident to represent the unierse ofcases, and then use that e'ample to build support for changing an entirerule or policy!


o 1'! -hy do women get half of all assets in a diorce oid of a

prenuptial agreement: This rule was fashioned on the assumptionthat the woman in a household spends her married years as ahousewife and mother, and as such, had no economic assets of herown to claim in a diorce!

The strategy of focusing on part of a problem is likely to lead to skewedpolicy, but it is often politically useful because it takes a larger issue andpresents a single, more manageable chunk for the public to identify with!

o 1'! A plea all oer the news to find one missing, abused, or

staring child within a region, makes the public aware andsympathetic to other children in a similar situation!

888. Metaphors

Are sometimes held to be the essential core of human thought and

creatiity!

&n policy, they are a likeness asserted between one kind of policy problem

and another!

The author describes these specific types of policy metaphors2

1. -i3ing 7rganis)s

A! -ith this metaphor, communities or groups are said to hae a life of theirown" and organi%ations hae goals"!.! 1'! &ndustry is being strangled," seres to personify industry!C! -hen anything in politics is described as fragmented," the perception is thatit is broken! Policy metaphors often 0ump from description to prescription!"J! A natural life cycle is also used to e'plain why political issues seem toe'perience periods of rapid growth and then decline!1! &n a culture where the common understanding is treating likes alike, to claim alikeness through a political metaphor is also to posit an interpretation of e)uity,

and demand e)ual treatment of certain agencies, etc!2. +at#ral -as

A! &n policy, this contributes to the belief that proiding monetary assistance tothose who hae problems like, poerty, homelessness, drug addiction, etc!,actually rewards them for haing the problem and creates an incentie for them toremain in their current condition!

&. Machines and Mechanical De3ices

A! Our Constitution is deried from 8thcentury political thoughts that rest on anotion that the political system is a machine with working parts that hae to bekept in order" and in balance"!.! Thus, checks and balances" are central to our way of thinking about how

political power should be allocated!C! Policy prescriptions become the addition of something to one side orsubtraction from the other!J! 1'! -ith nuclear weapons, strategists talk of a balance of terror," wheremutual fear preents either side from acting!

'. ;edges and 8nclines

A! #oernment regulation is often portrayed as a wedge2 once they get their footin the door!!!


.! The image of the wedge suggests that a seemingly small beginning can haeenormous leerage!C! As for inclines, the metaphor is of one ascending a ladder, compelled rung byrung, een though it gets scarier step by step, and despite the fact that perhapsescalating further goes against ones better 0udgment!J! Slippery slope arguments meanwhile begin by acknowledging that a law fore'ample is not in itself bad, but permitting the phenomenon would eentuallylead to badness!1! 1'! Allowing physicians to pursue pleas for assisted suicide in certain cases7

. Containers

A!This is the idea of a fi'ed space!.! The problem might be that a space is oerfilled, thus Me'ican workers spilloer" the borders into the /nited States!C! Or, one can drain off" some of the contents of the container, and allow agradual release of pressure by letting angry citi%ens blow off steam!"

5. Disease

A! &n the policy realm, cults, crime, or any other condemned behaior is often

said to spread," with such people iewed as contagious! Members and adocatesare basically said to infect" others with their ideas!.! 1'! Teenage pregnancy and high school dropout rates are iewed as anepidemic"!C! The disease label discredits opponents and implies a moral rightness oftreating them as less than human!J! The psychiatry profession has further facilitated such treatment in the politicalrealm, by conerting many social problems into mental disorders! As such,consistent unemployment and repeated absences from work are classified asanti$social personality disorder," meaning that those people are in fact sick, notsimply unhappy!


o 1'! Ambiguity can unite people who would benefit from the same

policy but for different reasons! Some groups do not want to seethe construction of more homes because they want to preserenature, while others simply do not want to see the alue of theirown homes reduced!

&t allows leaders to aggregate support from different )uarters for a singlepolicy!

&t allows policy makers to placate both sides in a conflict by giing the

rhetoric to one side and the decision to the other"!

5egislators can satisfy demands to do something about a problem by

passing a ague statue with ambiguous meaning and then lettingadministratie agencies hash out the more conflicting details!

.y portraying a decision one way in the press yet e'ecuting it another,

political leaders can perform the magic trick of making two decisions atonce and keeping the peace so that two sides can technically claimictory!

Oerall, problems are not out there in the world waiting for smart analysts to come anddefine them, they are created in the mind of citi%ens by other citi%ens, leaders, organi%ations,and goernment agencies as an essential part of political maneuering! Policy stories aretools of strategy with symbols, metaphors, ambiguities, etc!, all as weapons in the arsenal ofmanipulation!

Policy Paradox Chapter < +#)%ers

One common way to define a policy problem is to measure it!"*Stone, 99+

One common way to begin a discussion about a policy is to define the problem and needaccording to trends! &f a problem is big enough by the numbers, policy efforts gaininstant credibility! One e'ample of this can be seen with the problem of obesity! &n theState of >eada and almost eery other state, legislators hae begun to take a look at

obesity trends and are formulating state policies and programs to help reduce theprealence of obesity! One of the first steps in our state was the formation of a task forceto e'amine the Cost of Obesity! The task force produced a report to demonstrate howcostly obesity has become to all people in our state regardless of health status! /sing thereport from the task force, legislators had enough momentum to pass >eada State Senate.ill 8B@! The outcome of this bill was the formation of the Adisory Council for theState Program on 4itness and -ellness which is comprised of professionals from aariety of backgrounds! The Council is to make recommendations on how our State


Program for 4itness and -ellness should operate! &neitably the Adisory Council willgo right back to the numbers to accomplish this goal!

The challenge for policy )akers is to deter)ine the %est ay to represent the

pro%le) ith n#)%ers. This is challenging %eca#se there are an infinite n#)%er of

ays to descri%e so)ething ith n#)%ers. The )anner for #sing n#)%ers todescri%e the pro%le) ill depend on the p#rpose of the policy analysis.

8ncl#sion 3ers#s excl#sion

One critical issue in using numbers to describe a problem is inclusion ersus e'clusion!This is the process by which we determine that something counts and another does not!-hen numbers are used to describe a problem something will be left out! The manner bywhich the problem is reported becomes ery political! 6ow doe we determine who toleae out: Someone will always be unhappy:

+#)%ers as Metaphors

Counting numbers as metaphors is to focus on what counts and leae out eerything else!&n obesity, we hae a baseline measure called body mass inde' *.M&+! According to theCJC, .M& is used because for most people, it correlates with their amount of body fat!So, an adult with a .M& between 9= and 9B!B is considered oerweight and an adult whohas a .M& of ; or higher is considered obese!" There are inherent problems whennumbers are used as metaphors! -hat is obese and what is not obese will be challenged!&t is possible to hae a .M& less than the critical cut$off and be too fat! &t is also possibleto hae a .M& greater than the critical cut$off and be completely healthy! So, one issue iswhere the boundary lies for what is and what is not!

+#)%ers as nor)s and sy)%ols

Measures imply a need for action! Typically, the first step in promoting change is tomeasure the problem! Feporting the numbers creates pressure to change! The numbersbecome a norm! >orms help establish helplessness or lack of control of the issue!

There are often problems in using numbers as norms and symbols! Often the numbers areambiguous! Measures often hae double meaning! #ood in one arena bad in another!

So, how the measure is interpreted is ery important! Cost is an e'ample of a doubleedged sword! 4ew would argue that health care in America is costly! The numbers speakfor themseles! 4or many the high cost may be a sign of high )uality! 6oweer, forothers it is better to pay less for more! One great e'ample of this is seen in theprescription drug industry! &n many states there is little regulation to preent pharmaciesfrom raising prices on the prescription drugs they fill! The problem is that prices areinconsistent! -hat may cost R


seller! 1fficiency and productiity can also be Qdouble edged swords! This is eident inhealth care when increasing efficiency and productiity may be seen as positie toinsurance companies, but negatie to the consumer who re)uires )uality care!

-hen it comes to numbers, politicians tend to like the middle or at the aerage and prefer

to aoid e'tremes! The ambiguity of the middle ground is a safe place compared to thee'treme ends where otes may be easily won and easily lost!

idden Stories in +#)%ers

>umbers tell a story, of decline and decay or bigger and worse! The goal is to create asense of helplessness and control! Typically, the numbers are used to tell the story andthe deception lies in the fact that they dont lie, or do they: Characteristically, numberscan be e'plicit! More importantly, numbers can be ery implicit too! &f somethingcounts, it must be important right: People tend to use counting and measure ofsomething to erify the problem is worth looking at! -hen something counts" the

assertion is made that it" is identifiable with clear boundaries! One e'ample of this isseen in education where there is great debate oer accountability! Test scores haebecome the outcome measure for schools to demonstrate they are accountable for studentprogress, improement, and achieement! There is great argument related to thisstemming from the alidity and reliability of the measures of aptitude and achieement!

;hen e %egin to co#nt a trait e %egin to create a co))#nity of (like.*

The pro%le) ith this lies in the distinction of hat co#nts and hat does not. The

%o#ndary %eteen hat is and hat is not )ay %e 3ery f#y. 8n policy co#nting

)o%ilies efforts. ;e pro)ise conflict resol#tion 3ia arith)etic and can )anip#late

hat e )eas#re %y adding, s#%tracting, )#ltiplying, and di3iding. This iscontradictory to the nat#re of exactness appreciated in science here n#)%ers are

seen as sy)%ols of o%0ecti3ity, precision, and acc#racy.

Co#nting is political

8! include ersus e'clude9! implies norms of how much is too little too much;! ambiguity


Official Jefinition Also /nemployedOlder than 8? /nwilling to take aail! 0obs6ae preiously held a 0ob dangerous

Are aailable for work unpleasant6ae looked for work within the preious four weeks demeaning

Can only find part$time when-ant full$time

uit a 0ob to look forSomething better

Cant work due to child care-orkers strike
http://www.cdc.gov/http://www.cdc.gov/


Co#nting alays in3ol3es deli%erate decisions a%o#t counting as

Must begin with categori%ation-hat include and e'clude&mportant characteristics and asking whether the ob0ect to be classified is

substantially like the others in the category1stablishment of boundaries in the form of rules or criteriaOnly after characteri%ing does mere tallying come

policy paradox. the art of political decision making

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