ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Habermasian tragedy of the transformation of public sphere into administrative bureaucratic state. The biological imperative of their production and the physical imperative of their diffusion gave such materials a publicity that existed independently of anyone’s choice. The authority of epidemiology and pathology account for the passage of nuisance legislation in the late 1840s and the corresponding disappearance of a public sphere approach, but they do help us understand the use of the new laws. The medicalization of nuisances was part of their absorption by the growing public health bureaucracy. The 1848 Public Health Act required appointment of an inspector of nuisances who was to report to a medical officer of health if there were one, or, failing that, directly to the local board of health. The 1875 Public Health Act required appointment of a medical officer of health in each district, with nuisance prevention as one duty.
