Abstract
Dogma and skepticism are not necessarily universal tendencies to be applied regardless of subject. It is possible to be skeptical about some things and dogmatic about others. Indeed, unless dogma is to become utter rigidity, and skepticism sheer disbelief, there must be some combination that varies by object and degree — one trusts science more than astrology, family more than statesmen. There are contexts in which skepticism may be misplaced. Perhaps there are even experiments showing that assuming a posture of scientific skepticism toward loved ones (“How are your” “What do you mean exactly?”) is counterproductive (though some relationships may last as long as an hour under this onslaught). It is important, therefore, to differentiate the object of skepticism and the degree of dogma.
“Seek simplicity and distrust it.”
Alfred North Whitehead
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Notes
Jimmy Carter, Why Not the Best? (Broadman Press, 1975), p. 147.
“Issues Reference Book,” p. 14; and Albert R. Hunt, “Carter and Business,” Wall Street Journal, August 12, 1976, p. 15.
Eleanor Randolf, “Carter Hits ‘Lone Ranger’ Foreign Policy of Kissinger,” Chicago Tribune, June 24; 1976, p. 5.
Martin Landau, “Redundancy, Rationality, and the Problem of Duplication and Overlap,” Public Administration Review Vol. 29, No. 4 (July–August 1969), pp. 346–358.
Quoted in Bruce Mazlish and Edwin Diamond, “Thrice Born: A Psycho-history of Jimmy Carter’s Rebirth,” New York No. 9, No. 35 (August 30, 1976), p. 32.
In New York City, John Lindsay “rationalized” the city administration by consolidating and eliminating all intermediate structures, thus forming the “Office of Collective Bargaining.” It soon became the sole target of public-employee union demands, thereby- greatly strengthening the union’s position. In jack Douglas’s apt description, the rationalization “swept away all the hedgerows behind which he [Lindsay] could have hidden.” See Jack D. Douglas, “Urban Politics and Public Employee Unions,” in Public Employee Unions: A Study of the Crisis in Public Sector Labor Relations (San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1976), p. 103.
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© 1979 Aaron Wildavsky
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Wildavsky, A. (1979). Skepticism and Dogma in the White House: Jimmy Carter’s Theory of Governing. In: The Art and Craft of Policy Analysis. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04955-4_11
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