ABSTRACT
From the beginnings of human thought, public policymaking has been a central subject for study and discussion by social philosophers and practical politicians alike. Their writings include many moving exhortations, profound insights, fascinating descriptions, and stimulating ideas that not only are of much theoretical significance, but also have been of great practical import in shaping contemporary policymaking. It is enough to mention Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Burke, Bentham, the Cameralists, and the Federalists to illustrate what such discursive writings have contributed to the study and practice of policymaking, or Babur, Richelieu, Frederick the Great, Metternich, Bismarck, and Churchill to illustrate how important the autobiographies and writings of practical politicians have been as a source of data and impressionistic generalizations about policymaking.
