My life is spent reading, talking, and writing about public affairs. Yet I cannot keep up. And, though I have more time than most people, I cannot satisfy the endless demands for participation. Somehow we must be able to make sense out of public affairs without being consumed by them. How to help ourselves gain access to public life without politicians is the challenge, for it means not only sporadic influence over policy but participation as part of policy (as patients, postal patrons, donators to charities) as it is played out. Analysts are paid to spend full time on public affairs; citizens must relate time spent on their public activities to their private interests. I argue that citizens can act as analysts by becoming part of public policies through which they can determine what they are getting for what they give by learning to perfect their preferences, and by exercising their autonomy so as to enhance reciprocity by taking others into account.--Aaron B. Wildavsky, Speaking Truth to Power: The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis
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