32 the nature of public interest

32: the nature of public interest (Yartey, 2014)
32:References to the so-called public interest appear with great frequency in contemporary political discourse. The principa question here is who decides what is in the public’s interest and who defines the public’s interest? Whose standards and what principles are used to determine the so-called public interest? Whose interests are we referring to when we talk about the public interest, the rulin political party’s interests. Or the interests of the majority? If it is the interest of the ruling party then it is nothing but political corruption. If it is the interest of the majority, what about the interests of the minority? Majority does not make moral and might not make right (Gildenhilys, 2004).
32:Defining the public interest is not easy. One could attempt a definition by defining the public interest as satisfying the collective and particular needs and values of every individual without any sacrificial victioms. Them oment one individuals’s interest is sacrificed, then one could agree that such a policy is not in the public’s interest. This means that government policy should concentrate only on common values agreed upon by all and on the collective needs of all indivudals; particular values and needs that may differ from person to person and from community to community should then fall outside the scope of government responsibility and be left to each indivudal to take care of. If this is impossible, any sacrificial victims of so-called public interestshould be fairly compensated for their loses by those who benefit from the so-called public interest(Gildenhilys, 2004).
33: determining the public’s collective interest is easier said than done. It is a difficult and a formidable task for any public administrator to scientifically determine the public’s collective interest. Some people believe that the question can be settled scientifically. They believe that if well educated and able public

References: 33: The dilemma of determining the public interest again stresses the need for well educated and well informed public administrators in the philosophical principles of public administration(Gildenhilys, 2004). The public interest, like love, means different things to different people, changes overtime, motivates behavior, frames our thinking, defies measurement, and involves both substance and process (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007). 68: We will classify models of the public interest as being primarily either 1. Normative 2. Abolitionist 3. Political process oriented or 4. Based on shared values (Denhardt & Denhardt, 2007). 20 : according to some political philosophers (e.g. Barry, 1965), the expression public interest has been so long and so loosely used and misused, that it would be better to abandon it altogether (McQuail, 1992). 21: the origin of the public interest concept lies in economic regulation, where it is still widely applied (McQuail, 1992). 4: the public interest has often been defined as a reflection of private interests within particular spheres of public policy (Woll, 1974). 9. the public interest never exisits in the abstract. There is always disagreement about what constitutes the public interest in any given area of public policy (Woll, 1974). 174: public interest can never be entirely divorced from the self interest of those who are making pubic policy decisions. (Abuecholz, 2012). 954: the definition and nature of the public interest is an ongoing area of debate and controversy among public administration scholars and practitioners (King, Chilton, & Roberts, 2010). 46: what we did find were examples of where public interest might be held to operate, for example in areas such as public health safety, military security and so on (Morrison & Svennevig, 2007). The key point to stress is that what is considered to be in the public interest represents a document of the values of any particular society (Morrison & Svennevig, 2007). 152: it is infact today a commonplace in the planning field to say that ‘the public interest does not exist’. In other words, the most prominent opinion…seem to be that the public interest is a phantom (Lucy, 1988: 147) (Moroni, 2004). Abuecholz, R. (2012). Reforming Capitalism: the scientific worldview and business. NY: Routledge. Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2007). The new public service: serving not steering. NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Gildenhilys, J. S. H. (2004). The Philosophy of Public Administration: a holistic approach. Stellenbosch: Sun Press. Horowitz, R. (2013). In the public interest: medical licensing and the disciplinary process. NJ: Rutgers University Press. King, S. M., Chilton, B. S., & Roberts, G. E. (2010). Reflections on defining the public interest. Administration and Society, 41(8), 954-978. McQuail, D Moroni, S. (2004). Towards a reconstruction of the public interest criterion. Planning Theory, 3(2), 151-171. Morrison, D Samples, J., & Thierer, A. (2005). Why subsidize the soap box? the McCain free airtime proposal and the future of broadcasting In J. Samples (Ed.), Welfare for politicians? Tax payer financing of campaigns. Washington D.C.: Cato Institute. Wart, M. V. (1998). Changing Public Sector Vaues. USA: Routledge. Winch, D. M. (1989). Collective bargaining and the public interest: a welfare economics assessment. Quebec: McGill-Queen 's University Press. Woll, P. (1974). Public Policy. Lanham: Winthroup Publishers, Inc. What he said in his book …. (Yartey, 2014) Yartey Yartey, D