ABSTRACT
‘The Public Interest’ is a phrase redolent with the authority which attaches to the State. Sceptics, however, may see it as simply a phrase used by those in positions of state authority to legitimize their actions; and by those not holding such positions, but who wish to affect public policy, as a means of lending weight to their proposals. Both Aristotle and Aquinas were, of course, concerned with the ideal, or if actual, with small states. In societies with which they would have been familiar it would still theoretically be possible for a large proportion of the citizens to take in turn the responsibilities of office, and perhaps be constrained in the ways Aristotle outlined to act in the common interest. The Department of Trade and Industry, which was responsible for issuing export licenses, naturally thought that it was in the public interest to sell as many pieces of equipment as possible to whoever would buy them.
