Public Administration and the Public Interest: Re-Presenting a Lost Concept

Authors

Gary S. Marshall, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Enamu Choudhury, Indiana State University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1997

Publication Title

American Behavioral Scientist

Volume

41

Issue

1

First Page

119

Last Page

131

Abstract

This article analyzes how the concept of the public interest has been articulated in the field of public administration. It traces the intellectual development of the term and highlights the differences between a definition of the public interest that emphasizes a “community of meaning” and a definition that emphasizes the “objective control of administration.” The article then goes on to discuss how the current debates concerning the postmodern experience inform a definition of the public interest for the 21st century.

Recommended Citation

Marshall, Gary S. and Choudhury, Enamu, "Public Administration and the Public Interest: Re-Presenting a Lost Concept" (1997). Public Administration Faculty Publications. 72.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/pubadfacpub/72