Abstract
The title of this Quincentennial Symposium — Politics as rational action - embodies an idea that has attracted thinkers at least since Plato articulated his concept of the ‘philosopher-king’. Plato’s thought was that a philosopher like himself, made king, would ponder deeply the affairs of state and choose wise policies that served the true interest of the state. A heady thought. Most thinkers’ aspiration to play a role in nudging governments toward greater rationality has aimed a notch lower: ‘philosophers’ should serve as advisers to rulers, identifying for them the wisest course of action. Machiavelli sought to advise the Prince both about grand strategy for preserving his city state, and about the best way of reinforcing the wall around Florence to keep out invaders.
If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and from men’s cottages princes’ palaces… I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.
The Merchant of Venice, Act I, Scene II
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Allison, G.T. (1980). Implementation Analysis: The ‘Missing Chapter’ in Conventional Analysis Illustrated by a Teaching Exercise. In: Lewin, L., Vedung, E. (eds) Politics as Rational Action. Theory and Decision Library, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8955-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8955-9_15
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