Day 3: The Market and the Polis

Daniel J. Mallinson

School of Public AffairsPenn State Harrisburgmallinson@psu.edu

PUBPL 304

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Road map

Finish the Policy Process Model

Discuss Stone Chapter 1

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The Policy Process Model

1 Problem Definition and Agenda Setting

2 Policy Formulation

3 Policy Legitimation

4 Policy Implementation

5 Policy Evaluation

6 Policy Change

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Policy Legitimation

Is it as simple as passage by the legislature and approvalof the executive?

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Policy ImplementationDoes adoption mean proper implementation? What aresome of the hazards of implementation?

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Policy ImplementationDoes adoption mean proper implementation? What aresome of the hazards of implementation?

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Policy Evaluation and Change

How do politics enter into the process of evaluation andchange?

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Cairney 2016

How is Cairney responding to the process model?

Why must analysts be as concerned with the demand forinformation as the supply?

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Cairney 2016

How is Cairney responding to the process model?Why must analysts be as concerned with the demand forinformation as the supply?

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The Market vs. the Polis

Take 2 mins, think about the following:

How would you define the market? The Polis?

What distinguishes the two?

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The Market

“A social system in which individuals pursue their own welfare byexchanging things with others whenever trades are mutuallybeneficial.” Stone, 19.

One motivation for action: Self interest

Pursuit should benefit whole

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The Polis

“Public policy is about communities trying to achievesomething as communities.”

Collective will and effort vs. individual utilitymaximization

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The Polis

Power

Community

Motivation

PublicInterest

CommonsProblems

Influence

SocialInteraction

Loyalty

Groups

Information

Passion

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Community

Politics involves collective action

Definition of membership is political

Membership defines political, social, and economic rights

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Motivation

Self-interest matters...

... but so does altruism

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Public Interest

Collection of individual public goals?

Or goals that achieve consensus?

Or the general good?

Active, not passive

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Commons Problems

“Tragedy of the commons” (Garrett Hardin)

Conflict between self-interest and public interest

Collective action inhibited by avoidance of private cost or loss ofprivate benefits

Bridge: influence, cooperation, loyalty

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Influence

Choices are conditional on others

Sometimes leaderless collective behavior

Fuzzy line between influence and coercion

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Cooperation

Politics is conflict

Conflict unites and divides

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Loyalty

“Politics is therefore something like choosing a wife, rather thanshopping in a five-and-ten-cent store.” (Schattschneider 1957)

Presumption of loyalty

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Groups

Building blocks of the polis

Groups spar over policy, not individuals

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Information

Perfect vs. ambiguous, incomplete, strategically withheldinformation

“... interpretations are more powerful than facts.” (Stone, 30)

Information gathering is costly

Motivated reasoning and confirmation bias

Figure: http://colbertrally.com/wp-content/themes/colbertrally/images/colbert-truthiness.jpg

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What is issue framing?

Every battle is won before it is ever fought. - Sun Tzu

Control the narrative to win

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Passion

Emotion matters in politics

Political skills and passion are not fixed resources (exerciseexpansion)

Different meaning of economies of scale

Ambiguity and symbolism

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The Polis

Power

Community

Motivation

PublicInterest

CommonsProblems

Influence

SocialInteraction

Loyalty

Groups

Information

Passion

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Thoughts and Critiques

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