From the Managing Editor
With ten years past and hundreds of contributions to the topic, serious discussions on how to strengthen the good society have not yet been exhausted. Recent events, now permanently ingrained in our memories, only further illustrate the immediacy considering how to work towards the good society. This issue, as with those past and future, will continue to serve as a forum for such discussion.
To begin, the symposium "Conservative-Liberal-Socialism" blends three schools of thought into a unique type of politics. The symposium on "Conservative-Liberal-Socialism" picks up where the writings of Leszek Kolakowski on this topic left off. Martin Krygier calls for Conservative-Liberal-Socialism to be refashioned, reconsidered, and resurrected as a movement of enormous importance. Seán Patrick Eudaily addresses two important points that Krygier leaves unresolved in his piece: the role of totalitarianism in upholding a cohesive resistance against itself and Kolakowski's rejection of the Conservative-Liberal-Socialism front. The "politics of a complex center" is what Karol Edward Soltan believes Conservative-Liberal-Socialism is really after and is what should be seriously considered. To end the symposium, Vladimir Tismaneanu emphasizes the widespread dissatisfaction with traditional ideologies and how Conservative-Liberal-Socialism can vocalize the challenges of modernity that the political faces.
Introduced on the cover by its architects Brian J. Cook and Noah M.J. Pickus, the symposium on "Policy Analysis for the Good Society" surveys the challenges policy analysts face and uncovers possible ideas and strategies to help resolve them. Leading off, David B. Bobrow holds the belief that policy analysts should act as practical professionals rather than as idealistic academics. John S. Dryzek encourages what has been termed the "post-positivist tendency in policy analysis" that aims to foster a more democratic process. Following in the footsteps of Dryzek, Peter DeLeon and Ralph C. Longbardi suggest that participatory policy analysis can get us back on track toward the good society. Writing that the realm of policy analysis should be broadened, Elinor Ostrom asserts that citizens should engage themselves at a more local level in order to see their interests and pursuits realized. Noah M.J. Pickus and Troy Dostert bring ethics into the ring of policy and ask how the good society can be analyzed with its help. From a perspective that includes both policy and management, Steven Rathgeb Smith and Helen Ingram take an institutional approach to help revive the policy process. Lastly, David L. Weimar takes a similar institutional approach as Smith and Ingram, but includes social values and professional virtues as part of the policy analysis dialogue.
The final symposium of the issue, "Three Essays on Democratic Practice," brings together a group of thinkers who are optimistic about the way in which democracy can reshape itself through distinct approaches to civic teaching and interaction. Archon Fung knows that political reforms in areas of public concern, like education and community policing, may have started off on a weak footing but are extremely important to a continued strengthening of democratic citizenry. Christian List introduces two distinct concepts of agreement in democratic practice while illustrating why one of these concepts should be privileged over the other. Kevin Mattson's final comments for the symposium highlight his experience with the Clemente Course, an educational experiment that recruits poorer citizens to strengthen their education.
This issue's Constitutional Corner has a special feature by contributing editor Mark A. Graber. Graber asks that constitutional theory progressives look back to their theoretical (rather than legal) roots in order to create better alternatives to the current regime as well as regain political power in the current regime.
As an avid reader of The Good Society, you may notice a new feature in this issue. A Decade of Memories: Thoughts by Former Managing Editors of The Good Society is a self-explanatory feature which will grace the pages of each of these volume's issues, now that 10 years of the journal are under our belt. I hope that you enjoy these pearls of editorial experience.
One final note: my reign as managing editor has come to a close and
will be taken over by Bradley D. Hays. As always, I am confident that
The Good Society and those behind the scenes will forge ahead,
blending the interesting and innovative with an air of seriousness and
inquisitiveness that is demanded by real world political-economical
discussions. My time in this position was invaluable and I look forward
to documenting my own experiential pearl in a future issue.
Tina Won Sherman, Managing Editor
PEGS
Department of Government & Politics
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20740
(301) 405-7799
(301) 314-9690
e-mail: pegs@gvpt.umd.edu
