Political Science 1020E Lecture Notes - Lecture 24: Robert Jervis, Petro-Canada, Rational Choice Theory
26 Jan 2016
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Document Summary
According to this account policy makers specify clear outcomes to be sought (policy goals) followed by a consideration of the most efficient means of maximizing these goals. This approach seeks to unpack the idea of rationality by examining how policy could emerge from a systematic search for the most efficient means of achieving defined goals. Specifically, it requires policy- makers to: (1) rank all their values (2) formulate specific options (3) check all the results of choosing each option against each value (4) select the alternative that achieves most values. The incremental model was developed by charles lindblom (1959) as part of a reaction against the rational model. Incrementalism represents what lindblom calls the science of muddling through: what matters is that those involved (the stakeholders) should agree on policies, not objectives. Agreement should be reached on the desirability of following a particular policy, even when objectives differ. Here policy emerges from rather than precedes, negotiations with interested groups.
