ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the tension between a management-centered approach to the theory and practice of public administration and a constitutional-centered approach. It argues that the constitutional-centered approach matters because of the pivotal role played by career public servants in securing the purposes of the U.S. democratic republic through the discretion they exercise at every level of our public organization. We elaborate on the importance of viewing a legal-centered approach as both constraining and empowering by creating the authority to take action to advance the common good.
