An Agenda Item

Some years ago James Fesler, Professor of Public Administration at Yale University, noted the revival of an old agenda item: the specialist versus the generalist in administration. ¹ The problem has been a serious one in Britain for a good time. According to Anthony Sampson ‘the conflict between amateurs and professionals runs through many British institutions—more than on the Continent or in America—but it has its most troubled frontier in the Civil Service’. ² Critical discussion of the Civil Service is part of the ‘state of England’ debate that has been under way for some years. There is a growing literature on our failure to meet the challenge of the mid-twentieth century and most pins some responsibility on the administrative system. ³ The present role of the ‘generalist’ administrator is a common thread. A recent Fabian pamphlet, indeed, said that the amateur versus professional issue was the central issue of Civil Service reform. ⁴ Much of the evidence to the Fulton Committee on the future structure of the Civil Service touches on this.