ABSTRACT
The idea that scientifically based knowledge about society could be applied to society's improvement first arose during the eighteenth century Figure 1.1 describes the forms of that idea over the last two hundred years, mapping the intellectual influences that have shaped contemporary planning theory in the United States. Schools of thought and individual authors are placed along a continuum of social values, from conservative ideology on the left-hand side of the figure to utopianism and anarchism on the right. To simplify exposition, we may divide this continuum into three parts. On the extreme left of the diagram are shown those authors who look to the confirmation and reproduction of existing relationships of power in society. Expressing predominantly technical concerns, they proclaim a carefully nurtured stance of political neutrality. In reality, they address their work to those who are in power and see their primary mission as serving the state.
