The Founders, the Constitution, and Public Administration: A Conflict in World Views

A very important book . . . Students, practitioners, theorists and administrative reformers will gain much by taking Spicer’s argument to heart.

–David H. Rosenbloom, Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, School of Public Affairs, The American University

Represents a major contribution to the ongoing discussion of legitimacy in the field of public administration . . . . Fashioning a new vision of public administration as ‘constrained discretion, ‘ Spicer advocates the use of common law reasoning and consensus, along with personal honesty, as key ingredients in constructing a role for public administrators that is truly consonant with the constitution.

–Guy B. Adams, associate professor and director of graduate studies, College of Business and Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia

Spicer has posed an elegant intellectual dichotomy between the assumptions of the Constitution and the implicit values of American public administration, contending that the gulf between the two impedes efforts to legitimize public administration . . . The argument is provocative, fresh, and succinctly stated, drawing on a masterful understanding of familiar as well as unfamiliar political philosophy . . . The book is on the cutting edge of public administration theory.

–Charles Goodsell, Center for Public Administration and Policy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Michael W. Spicer is a professor of public administration and urban affairs at the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University.