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Keyword of the day || methodological individualism
The doctrine asserting that social, political, and economic phenomena as well as institutional structures, must be explained entirely in terms of the intentional actions, choices, beliefs, and interactions of individual human actors.
Thinker of the day || Frank Johnson Goodnow
Work – Politics and Administration – A Study in Government
Views
- Rejects the strict legalistic separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial), Goodnow argued that government inherently possesses two core operational functions.
Politics (Expression of Will) – The formulation of state policies, goals, and public directives, performed by legislative bodies and political parties.
Google BooksAdministration (Execution of Will) – The technical, scientific, and impartial execution of those policies, performed by civil service agencies.
Goodnow maintained that while politics and administration are distinct functions, they cannot operate in total isolation. For governance to work efficiently without institutional paralysis, the body that executes policy must ultimately remain subordinate to the body that expresses the public will.
recognized political parties as essential extralegal tools that bridge the gap between policy formulation and policy execution in decentralized systems like the United States.
Party structures allow elected officials to influence administrative personnel sufficiently to guarantee that public policy is actually carried.
championed professional civil service reform to insulate routine administrative execution from party patronage spoils system
advocated for administrative centralization and scientific management to improve governance efficiency.
argued that administrative actions must be grounded in clear legal authorities while remaining accountable through judicial review and statutory rules.
His central argument is that governance requires a clear functional split Politics formulates the public will, while Administration executes it neutrally and efficiently. By balancing administrative independence with political oversight, Goodnow provided the structural model for modern democratic civil service systems.
PUB AD PYQ VAULT || Day 68 || PYQ (1997)
In the science of administration, whether public or private, the basic ‘good’ is efficiency.
