Abstract

The association of public administration with liberal democracy is by now taken for granted. At the end of the 20th century, this relation seems natural and unavoidable. Allegedly, justice and freedom can only operate in tandem through a liberal democratic welfare state. Almost all Western governments now fit that description. For astute observers, their shared features outweigh their cultural and institutional distinctions. Professional administrators oversee the details of popular government, look after social services, regulate commerce and provide for suitable transfers of income. Democracy has become synonymous with economic policy, usually signifying the distribution of entitlements or allowances, services, at least some public management of national resources, key industries, and corporate wealth.