Policy Paradox – The Art of Political Decision Making 3e

I found this a very informative book on basic concepts of public policy. Stone does her best to give the readers an enjoyable read by not being 'informative and dry' all the time. What I do miss is an overarching view on the concepts she outlines.

Deborah Stone took what could of been be a very dry topic and made it engaging and accessible for students. It made my course on process and formation of public policy much more engaging and enjoyable.

I read this book for a Public Administration course in my Master's program and I am very thankful for the professor who assigned this text. Having read several economics books and having heard analysis of policies with regard to economic models, it's good to have this as an alternative framework. For me Stone's perspective seems intrinsic, She holds that interpersonal connections within a society drive the dynamics and perspectives within, rather than the informed self interest of individual actors. This comes off as a much more realistic portrayal of how individuals view choices. We are not able to balance every action as to pick and choose what is solely advantageous to our being, we do with what we have and we try to accommodate for those around us and those that we love. Using this premise she guides us through the different dilemmas perceived regarding policy interpretation. She first explores the different aims of policies and how they may be seen as being in conflict, like liberty and welfare. She elaborates that these goals are at times irreconcilably at odds and administrators have to do the best they can with what they have, with any social dilemma there is never any clean, utilitarian solution. However, she argues too that there may be a perceived problem yet multiple aims may be achieved, one does not have to forgo a goal [equity] for another [efficiency] or one demographic for another. From this she discusses the manner in which policies are framed and how the very framework one poses an issue may slight it to a particular stance. Such as calling medicaid welfare or help to the poor during a debate or a stump speech. At end Stone discusses the different ways in which policies are enacted and the intrinsic difficulties with each process of implementation. Such an example she uses is a common one with Rules, some groups and individuals choose to subvert rules because there is an acceptance in being alternative. Stone also informs the reader of ways in which the electorate may be coerced without legal action. Such would be the case of controlling the information the electorate receives or spinning it in a specific way that is advantageous to an elected official or entity of government/business. Such examples contradict the assumptions economic models make in individuals having unlimited access to all forms of data. Overall, this is a well-written, informative text that is easy to read. I believe you can be of any educational background and understand the concepts Stone lays out within. That being said I believe this text only provides a framework, as is the purpose of the text. If one wants to make informed decisions regarding policies or simply be well informed, they will have to pursue more exhaustive literature. I give this a book a 5/5 for being informative and providing a vital perspective to policy interpretation while still being easy to read.

Pleased to see a reviewer comment on conservative -v-liberal bias We seem to be generally unable to approach a policy or many other matters with clear perspectives. Must be human nature.

If you like politics, this book will be such a pleasure to read. It unveils not so obvious strategies of political communication and conceptualization of ideas.

This is a fascinating and thought provoking book on political decision making. I have used it as a text in my doctoral course on policy analysis for nearly two decades. She juxtaposes two models in this book. (1) The rationality project. This is where we use rational approaches to policy making, including economic analysis. The idea is to use neutral and objective data to make the best policy decision possible.The model for society and its functioning is the market, with its emphasis on self-interest and rational calculation. (2) On the other hand, she points out that this does not describe the political world. Here (see the chart on page 35), we see that community is important (not just self-interest), altruism has a role to play, cooperation and competition coexist, and so on. Politics is an arena where there is contestation over facts, values, even numbers. There is no objective, neutral evaluation of facts. The very nature of the economic, rational approach is contested. The volume explores the debates between the political and rational models in such arenas as the goals for society, the nature of deciding on which problems should be addressed, and how solutions are addressed. This is a thought-provoking work that will leave readers thinking about the nature of policy making and what is at stake.