Citizen Participation , Decision Making

In contrast to science and technology, public policymaking systems lack knowledge about the design and operation of overall social control. Policy sciences contribute to the understanding and improvement of large-scale control systems, especially in their attempt to give rationality to policymaking an& decisionmaking activities. The most important implication of policy sciences is that they provide man with the ability to direct and control his future. (RA) From the point of view of human action, scientific knowledge can be divided into three main levels: knowledge relevant to the control 1 of the environment; knowledge relevant to the control of society and individuals; and knowledge on the control of the controls themselvas, that is, on meta-control. Knowledge on control of the environment, as supplied by rapid progress in the physical sciences, is the most highly developed one. Knowledge on control of society and individuals is much less advanced, but at least the social sciences and psychology constitute recognized components of science, receive significant support, and do show some signs of progress. Least developed of all and scarcely recognized as a distinct focus for research and study are meta-control knowledge, Any views expressed in this paper are those of the auckAor. They should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of The Rand Corporation or the official opinion or policy of any of its governmental or private research sponsors. Papers are reproduced by The RAND Corporation as a courtesy to members of its staff. CD CD 1 I am using the term "control" in the sense of regulating, governing , shaping, directing and influencing. "Monitoring" is one sub-.4141 element of "control," in the broad sense in which I use the latter. OQ-2-that is, knowledge on the design and operation of the control system itself. Scarcity of knowledge on design and operation of the social overall control system-which I call the public policymaking system2-accompanies humanity since its beginnings. While some progress has taken place in the mechanics of control and micro-control systems of some social components (such as corporations), the essential features of the public policymakin3 system continue to be beyond penetrating understanding and even more so, beyond conscious and deliberate design. This blind area in human knowledge has always caused suffering and tragedy, in terms of human values. But, from a longer time perspective , the weaknesses of the public policymaking system did not matter very much as long as the operations of …