Public Values and Public Interest

In his new book, Barry Bozeman demonstrates the continuing need for public interest theory in government. Public Values and Public Interest offers a direct theoretical challenge to the "utility of economic individualism," the prevailing political theory in the western world. The book's arguments are steeped in a practical and practicable theory that advances public interest as a viable and important measure in any analysis of policy or public administration. According to Bozeman, public interest theory offers a dynamic and flexible approach that easily adapts to changing situations and balances today's market-driven zeitgeist with the concepts of common good advocated by Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, and John Dewey. Thoughtful, challenging, and timely, Public Values and Public Interest shows how the quest for fairness can once again play a full part in public policy debates and public administration.

Barry Bozeman is the Ander Crenshaw Professor of Public Policy and Regents Professor of Public Policy at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs and adjunct honorary professor of political science at the University of Copenhagen.