Herbert Werlin on Sheldon Wolin: A Misrepresentation of Political Theory
Date | 01 March 2000 |
DOI | 10.1177/0020852300661013 |
Published date | 01 March 2000 |
Subject Matter | Articles |
Herbert Werlin on Sheldon Wolin: a misrepresentation of
political theory
Antonio Leopold Rappa
Introduction
This article clarifies the relationship between political theory and its value for
administrative science. This is done with reference to Herbert Werlin’s article,
‘Revisiting Corruption: With a New Definition’ (1994: 547–58). The basis of
Werlin’s position is derived from his perception of political theory in Sheldon S.
Wolin’s articulation of the western tradition. I argue that ‘good’ political theory
cannot be singularly representative in any scholar or school of thought as Werlin
suggests. Political theory is about the thoughtful explanation of human needs,
wants and desires; Aristotelian political theory has sought and continues to
seek thoughtful explanations of human structures, and the values and ethics that
inhabit and support those structures. Administrative scientists, as professionally
trained scholars seeking (social) scientific approaches to modern administrative
systems, are innately involved in the political theories that support the domain of
administrative science. In his 1994 article, Werlin summarizes several earlier
positions on corruption, and endeavors to show the difficulty faced by the
Academy in achieving a unified, commonly shared definition of ‘corruption’
identified by such authors as Gould and Amaro-Reyes (1983: 2) and Atkinson and
Mancuso (1985: 463). Ironically, Werlin himself adds to the confusion of defini-
tional commonality by the nature of the tasks he sets out for himself
(1) to be realistic as well as moralistic about corruption; (2) to understand why corrup-
tion has a more devastating effect on less developed countries (LDCs) than more
developed countries (MDCs); and (3) to explain why corruption even when it is
‘standard operating procedure’ must be considered an extremely serious cause for con-
cern.
Such a definition could have been avoided had Werlin carefully interpreted politi-
cal theory in terms of method and value, over political time and space.
Antonio Leopold Rappa is Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, European
Studies Programme, National University of Singapore. CDU: 342.2(100).
International Review of Administrative Sciences [0020–8523(200003)66:1]
Copyright © 2000 IIAS. SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New
Delhi), Vol.66 (2000), 175–180; 011962
03_IRAS 66/1 articles 22/2/2000 11:22 am Page 175
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