Peter Self's Legacy: Economic Hegemony and the Public Domain

DOI10.1177/095207670301800404
Published date01 October 2003
Date01 October 2003
Subject MatterArticles
Peter
Self's
Legacy:
Economic
Hegemony
and
the
Public
Domain
Chris
Painter
University
of
Central
England
Abstract
Peter
Self
(1919-1999)
was
a
participant
in
the
policy-making
domain
as
well
as
a
distinguished
academic.
This
assessment
is
primarily
concerned
with
his
contribution
to
the
academic
study
of
political
science,
including
the
sub-disciplines
of
public
policy
and
public
administration.
It
selects
four
'volumes
of
influence'
spanning
the
period
from
1972
to
2000.
The
evaluation
particularly
focuses
upon
the
relevance
of
Self's
work
to
on-going
predicaments
faced
by
governments,
not
least
the
light
that
work
continues
to
shed
on
issues
inherent
in
the
public
management
paradigm
so
dominant
in
the
discourse
of
the
public
domain
during
the
last
25
years.
It
can
be
contended
that
Self's
social
democratic
mindset
had
not
fully
come
to
terms
with
the
changing
parameters
within
which
governments
nowadays
must
operate
and
that,
as
such,
he
was
very
much
a
creature
of
the
20th
rather
than
the
21st
century.
Yet,
by
reaffirming
the
importance
of
the
public
domain
in
addressing
the
problems
and
challenges
of
contemporary
society,
the
selected
work
was
unusual
in
providing
a
coherent
narrative.
Moreover,
in
delineating
dilemmas
arising
from
conflicting
administrative
values,
Self
elucidated
underlying
administrative
tensions
that
continue
to
bedevil
'third-
wayism'.
Introduction
In
order
to
evaluate
the
contribution
of
Peter
Self
(1919-1999)
to
political
science,
including
the
sub-disciplines
of
public
administration
and
public
policy,
this
paper
will
focus
on
four
of
his
major
works
spanning
the
period
from
1972
to
2000.
If
the
likes
of
Richard
Crossman
showed
a
tendency
towards
over-simplification
and
shallowness
of
argument,
portrayed
by
Theakston
in
this
collection
as
a
'gadfly
critic
and
a
maverick
insider',
Self
presents
the
opposite
problem,
given
the
density
of
argument
for
which
his
scholarship
was
renowned.
In
order
to
stand
any
chance
of
doing
justice
to
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
18
No.
4
Winter
2003
41
his
contribution
it
is
therefore
necessary
to
be
selective
in
the
works
chosen
for
attention.
The
four
'volumes
of
influence'
selected
are
-
in
chronological
order
-
Administrative
Theories
and
Politics
(first
published
in
1972,
with
a
second
edition
in
1977,
regarded
by
many
in
the
academic
community
as
his
seminal
contribution);
Econocrats
and
the
Policy
Process
(published
in
1975,
arguably
his
most
provocative
piece
of
work);
Political
Theories
of
Modern
Government
(published
in
1985);
and
finally
Rolling
Back
The
Market
(published
in
2000,
completed
only
five
weeks
before
his
death).
If,
at
times,
Self's
dense
analyses
could
border
on
the
impenetrable,
he
also
paradoxically
was
eminently
quotable,
displaying
a
lost
art
of
captivating
academic
writing.
One
irresistible
example
can
be
cited:
'Political
activity
is
like
lightning,
in
that
it
may
suddenly
strike
into
any
corner
of
the
administrative
system...'
(Self,
1977
edn,
p.151).
A
danger
in
a
project
of
this
kind
is
falling
into
the
trap
of
academic
ancestor
worship,
though
the
word
ancestor
is
a
bit
fanciful
in
the
context
of
someone
whose
last
published
work
was
as
recent
as
2000.
Nevertheless,
Self
could
justifiably
be
described
as
a
'boundary
spanner'
(Williams,
2002)
given
the
broad
sweep
of
his
engagement
not
just
with
political
science
and
its
sub-disciplines
but
also
with
wider
issues
of
political
economy.
We
do
need
to
be
wary
of
the
methodological
quagmire
involved
in
ascertaining
influence,
problematic
not
least
because
of
the
concept's
multidimensionality,
one
significant
dimension
being
the
object
of
influence
-
scholarship
or
practice
(a
distinction
highlighted
by
Isaac-Henry).
Self's
interests
also
extended
to
applied
public
policy
and
reform
of
institutional
architecture,
making
the
boundary
spanning
label
even
more
apposite.
Indeed,
his
first
career
was
as
a
journalist
and
member
of
the
editorial
team
of
The
Economist.
Apart
from
his
well-known
long
association
with
the
London
School
of
Economics,
Self
had
been
a
member
of
a
number
of
voluntary
bodies
and
government
committees,
notably
in
the
field
of
urban
and
regional
planning,
including
a
stint
as
Chairman
of
the
Town
and
Country
Planning
Association
during
the
1960s,
when
he
also
became
a
member
of
the
South
East
Regional
Economic
Planning
Council.
This
propelled
him
into
the
planning
policy-making
domain.
He
had
also
been
a
consultant,
for
example
to
the
OECD.
Moreover,
during
the
final
phase
of
his
academic
career
at
the
Australian
National
University
in
Canberra
in
the
1980s,
his
involvement
with
public
affairs
continued,
chairing
a
major
inquiry
into
Australian
local
government
finance.
He
therefore
exhibited
the
attributes
of
the
socially
active
citizen,
doing
his
bit
for
social
capital.
But
it
would
be
rash
to
claim
this
translated
into
a
significant
influence
on
public
affairs.
This
assessment,
in
any
case,
is
more
concerned
with
Self's
contribution
to
the
academic
study
of
public policy
and
public
administration
than,
for
example,
his
specific
interest
in
town
and
country
planning.
Nonetheless,
the
evidence
he
submitted
to
the
Roskill
Commission
on
the
Third
London
Airport
prompted
him
to
write
Econocrats
and
the
Policy
Process,
targeted
at
an
applied
debate
on
transportation
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
18
No.
4
Winter
2003
42

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