The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics)

162 Pages·2008·1.67 MB·English

by  Lawrence D. Brown

The Private Abuse of the Public Interest
Chicago Studies in American Politics A series edited by
Benjamin I. Page, Susan Herbst, Lawrence R. Jacobs, and James Druckman
Lawrence D. Brown and Lawrence R. Jacobs
The Private Abuse
of the Public Interest
Market Myths and Policy Muddles
The University of Chicago Press Chicago and London
LAWRENCE D. BROWN is professor of health policy and management at
the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
LAWRENCE R. JACOBS is the Walter F. and Joan Mondale Chair for Political
Studies and director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance
of the Hubert Humphrey Institute and the Political Science Department at
the University of Minnesota.
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2008 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2008
Printed in the United States of America
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 07642- 3 (cloth)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 07643- 0 (paper)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 07642- 3 (cloth)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 07643- 1 (paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Brown, Lawrence D. (Lawrence David), 1947–
The private abuse of the public interest : market myths and policy muddles /
Lawrence D. Brown and Lawrence R. Jacobs.
p. cm.—(Chicago studies in American politics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 07642- 3 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 07642- 3 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 07643- 0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
isbn- 10: 0- 226- 07643- 1 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Public administration—United States. 2. Social service—Contracting
out—United States. 3. Public welfare—Contracting out—United States.
4. United States—Economic policy. 5. Public- private sector cooperation—
United States. I. Jacobs, Lawrence R. II. Title.
jk421.b75 2008
352.5'38—dc22
2008013578
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48- 1992.
These men, they were all alike, they left everything out.
D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 A Return to Realism 1
2 Markets and Policy: From Pragmatic Realism to
Dogmatic Utopianism 10
3 Cycles of Reform: Formulation and Ratifi cation
of Market Utopianism 38
4 Cycles of Reform: Institutional Reality and the
Dystopia of Markets 67
5 The Democratic Disconnect and the Growth of
Government 95
6 Pragmatic Policy in the Marketplace of Ideas 121
References 133
Index 145

Acknowledgments
We have worked on this book for longer than we care to admit. One
of its pleasures has been interchange with colleagues who read and
commented on all or parts of the book and who enriched it in the
course of conversation with us. Although we did not always embrace
their suggestions or satisfy their challenges, we particularly want to
thank Je∏ Henig, Hank Levin, Deborah Stone, Hugh Heclo, Howard
Rifkin, Ruth Messinger, Sue Urahn, Michael Delli Carpini, Michael
Lipsky, Miles Rapoport, David Callahan, David Smith, Kate Kraft,
Stephen Heintz, Walter F. Mondale, J. Brian Atwood, Judy Feder,
Jennifer Hochschild, Jon Oberlander, and Michael Gusmano. We
are grateful to the Ford Foundation for a grant that got this project
under way. Three anonymous reviewers gave us insightful feedb ack
and encouragement, as did two superlative social science editors—
Ben Page (series editor) and John Tryneski (Chicago’s Social Science
editorial director)—who admirably uphold the traditions of intel-
lectually engaged editors. We alone are responsible for errors in and
limitations of the book.
ix