ABSTRACT
Deeply embedded in the traditions of analysis in political science is a concern with the distribution of social values in societies. A public policy is authoritative action that affects the distribution of values in society. One of the key concerns in political science is linking the decision-making structures of a society with the distribution of values in that society. This chapter reviews some attempts by political scientists to link social decision-making structures with value distributions. The determination of 'who gets what' through the authoritative decision-making structures of society occurs by way of two processes, allocation and distribution. Public policies are invariably goal-oriented. Moreover, in most cases they are designed to influence a very limited number of social conditions. Interactions of course occur among elements at a single level (between institutions at the ecological level, for example). But the levels themselves are also causally related.
