ABSTRACT
The national planning debates and activities of the 1973-1976 periods raised many more questions than they answered. The national planning idea re-emerged in American public policy, new planning initiatives and perspectives appeared in many areas, and a new self-critical and future-oriented spirit could be found in both national policymaking and the social and policy sciences. A number of new works in the public policy field indicate fresh perspectives on societal planning issues, and the need for closer interaction between creative planning theory and practice. Both advocates and opponents of the national planning idea seem to agree that the vigorous resurrection of national planning issues, despite its muddled nature and indecisive resolution, is only an opening round in a long battle. The various sources indicate a sense of the possibilities and dangers of future American national planning efforts.
