ABSTRACT
Organization development (OD) results from the confluence of many lines of inquiry and thought—all centering on choice and change, and generally guided by ideals about growing participation and involvement. This chapter demonstrates the two envisioned conditions, and suggests how the first might be encouraged and the second be made less likely. The focus is on populism and elitism as they coexist in OD. Elitists have no trouble with selection, in principle, given that practical choices might pose vexing trade-offs. The populist orientation had a lot of trouble with selecting in/out, however. Dwelling on personal experience is not unpleasant, but broader vistas also reflect the populist/elitist duality, and also suggest its benefits. The local government operated on the basis of some convenient assumptions about street dwellers, who exist under incredibly trying circumstances, and unrealistic public policies were legitimated by these assumptions. Reality testing of such assumptions required technical means to isolate and highlight their truth-value.
