ABSTRACT
In the past few years, numerous authors have addressed the shortcomings of public policy analysis. Some of these criticisms have been concerned with the subject aspects of the approach, pointing out how many years and multiple megadollars of policy research have not improved American social welfare policies nor corrected the deficiencies of the U.S. educational system. While one can legitimately argue that the problems addressed are extremely difficult—indeed, they might not have a feasible solution—this is little solace when the accountability roll is called. Others have described what they refer to as the internal contradictions of the policy sciences’ philosophy and approach. 1 And everybody complains that nobody ever seems to listen, alas, for apparently good cause. Finger pointing rather than the proposition of real remedies appears to be the general order of the day.
