魔鬼、精神与大象——对公共行政学理论失败的反思

The Devil, Spirit and Elephants—— Reflection to the Theory of Public Administration Fails

在过去的半个世纪,那些给公共行政领域划定了边界的领军式的"理论家们",专注于攻击价值中立的逻辑实证主义的罪恶。文章对过去半个世纪公共行政学的发展进行了评论,这是一种挑起争议的评论,评论的焦点是西蒙-沃尔多争论,该争论最终导致公共行政学接受了一种"专业"身份,而不是在社会科学中寻求学科地位。对该领域的学术领袖和"看门人"近期著作所作的审视表明,这种反实证主义研究的迷狂仍在继续,而无视社会科学中的重要进展。公共行政学家要进行一场政治的与范式的变革,以满足将该领域推进到一种学科地位的需要。

For the past half-century, those defining the field of Public Administration in their role as its leading 'theorists' have been preoccupied with defending the enterprise against the evils of value-neutral logical positivism. This polemical review of that period focuses on the Simon-Waldo debate that ultimately leads the field to adopt a 'professional' identity rather than seek disciplinary status among the social sciences. A survey of recent works by the field's intellectual leaders and 'gatekeepers' demonstrates that the anti-positivist obsession continues, oblivious to significant developments in the social sciences. The paper ends with a call for Public Administrations to engage in the political and paradigmatic upheavals required to shift the field toward a disciplinary stance.