WINTER 2012 - National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and ...

Gary L. Wamsley
want to believe most Americans are part of the Great Middle Class, as likely
demonstrated by the distribution of student markings on the social class scale I
put on the board. Understanding these ideas about class differences will enable
students as current or future public administrators to contribute to governance
that enhances socioeconomic equity. I would also discuss how the private sector
has a vested interest in demonizing and stigmatizing government and public
administrators, the people charged with regulating their activities and therefore
having a bearing on their fortunes. I would suggest to students that all public
administrators should simply acknowledge these denigrations as a part of their
professional existence, an informal job description. It is not personal, but rather
naturally systemic, and therefore public administrators must understand they
will always be put down and discredited in a capitalist political economy. Often
the negativity will increase with their effectiveness. In other words, as with many
essential roles in our society (e.g., copilots and anesthesiologists), members of our
profession must remain cognizant of their essentiality and patiently accept their
role as second fiddle.
Fourth, I would explain that none of America’s founding documents granted
preference to a particular economic system. Although our Founding Fathers were
generally well off, none, with the possible exception of Alexander Hamilton at
his most prescient, foresaw the possibility of anything like the capitalist industrial
economy with its enormous power to influence government that evolved roughly
a century later. Nonetheless, the conventional wisdom is that capitalism is and
always has been intrinsic to our republic. To counteract this point, I would
review Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority (1936), a U.S. Supreme Court
opinion saying government could provide a product, in this instance electricity,
in competition with the private sector.
Fifth, I would follow Oldfield’s suggestion to me in his capacity as
symposium editor and use historical information to impart to my students the
idea that despite how public administration is commonly portrayed today, it was
never supposed to be valued only according to its capacity for greater efficiency
(as allegedly is the case with business). In particular, I would reiterate to
students that our governmental system with its Bill of Rights, its shared powers,
multiple layers, and branches was (thankfully) not designed for efficiency, but
the contrary. How can public administrators defend their profession if they
do not appreciate this essential fact? The right to numerous appeals and the
need for seemingly endless paperwork are manifestations of a political system
meant to be inefficient, thereby serving other purposes. As an example of the
virtues of inefficiency, I would point to the exonerated inmates of mostly lower-
and working-class social origins on death row in Illinois, whose lengthy and
inefficient appeals process meant their wrongful sentences were not immediately
acted upon—a circumstance that eventually led to the state outlawing the death
penalty. I would remind students of another important historical insight about
100 Journal of Public Affairs Education