Synopses & Reviews
Sir Henry Taylor's classic treatise
The Statesman, originally published in 1836, is the first modern book to be devoted to the subject of public administration. It has been read and studied by generations for its keen insights into the relationship between public administrators and elected officials in a democracy. It has also been appreciated for its wit. The present volume is the first twentieth-century edition to be based on the revised and expanded text that Taylor published in 1878 as part of his Collected Works. It is also the first edition to be fully annotated.
The lengthy editors' introduction to this volume emphasizes the relevance of Taylor's thought to the fundamental issues of public administration in the contemporary United States. The editors demonstrate the superiority of Taylor's understanding of the relationship between politics and administration to the widely accepted model of that relation that derives from the thought of Woodrow Wilson. Above all, they argue, Taylor's insights merit our attention because they indicate how a properly organized civil service can be a locus of statesmanship in a democracy, fulfilling the intentions of the authors of the American Constitution in a contemporary context that differs significantly from what the Founders themselves anticipated.
Synopsis
This complete 1878 edition of Sir Henry Taylor's classic work, studied by generations of political scientists and government officials, benefits from the editors' excellent essay which both explicates the text and illustrates its relevance to today.
Synopsis
This complete 1878 edition of Sir Henry Taylor's classic work, studied by generations of political scientists and government officials, benefits from the editors' excellent introduction which both explicates the text and illustrates its relevance today. The treatise speaks to public administrators and political leaders elected in democratic governments, establishing guidelines for "bureaucrats" and those to whom they report. By answering questions relating to a civil servant's proper function within a constitutional democracy, Taylor presents modern readers with enduring and timely principles.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 172-185) and index.
About the Author
DAVID LEWIS SCHAEFER is Associate Professor of Political Science at Holy Cross College.ROBERTA RUBEL SCHAEFER is Executive Director of the Worcester Municipal Research Bureau and Lecturer in Politics at Assumption College.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction: Sir Henry Taylor and the Study of Public Administration
Concerning the Education of Youth Destined for a Civil Career
Of the Age of which Official and Parliamentary Life Should Commence
A Statesman's Most Pregnant Function Lies in the Choice and Use of Instruments
On the Getting and Keeping of Adherents
In the Choice of Men How Far Literary Merit May Be a Guide
Of Official Style
On the Inferences of Merit or Demerit from Popularity, and Something Concerning False Reputations
Concerning Interviews
Concerning the Conscience of a Statesman
Concerning the Age at Which a Statesman Should Marry, and What Manner of Woman He Should Take to Wife
Concerning the Effects of Order and the Maintenance of Equanimity
Concerning Certain Points of Practice
On Official Criticism
On the Arts of Rising
On Quarrelling
On the Ethics of Politics
On Consistency in a Statesman
On Secrecy
On Ambition
Concerning Rank as a Qualification for High Office
On Decisiveness
Concerning Reform of the Executive and the Constitution of an Office or Establishment for Transacting the Business of a Minister
Further Respecting the Establishment of a Minister-Private Secretaries-Clerks
Concerning Precis-Writers, and Processes of Business
Upon the Methods by Which a Statesman Can Upon Occasion Get His Work Done Out of Doors
On Parliamentary Interposition in Administrative Business
On Aids to Legislation to Be Derived from Executive Experience
Of the Manner in Which Able, and of the Manner in Which Indifferent Statesmen Are Deterred from Availing Themselves of Able Service; and of the Evils Which Ensue from Men's Authority Being in the Inverse Ratio of Their Abilities
On the Administration of Patronage
Concerning the Amusements of a Statesman
On Manners
Of Statesmen Bred Such, and of Statesmen Bred in the Army, in the Navy, in Commerce, and at the Bar
The Statesman Out of Office
Conclusion
Notes to The Statesman and Appendix
Index