during the Depression. There are dozens of others, among the most important
of which are the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communica-
tions Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. The structure of most
agencies is that the president appoints the members, who serve for fixed terms,
but cannot dismiss them. Thus although any particular commissioner may owe
political loyalty to a particular president, the commission as a whole will reflect
a variety of political views. The agencies can make detailed regulations without
coming under electoral pressure to look after particular interests, unlike
members of Congress, and, because of their expertise, can deal with complex
detail. They are charged with regulating the industry in question, giving due
consideration both to the public interest and to the long-term interest of the
industry itself, so they can gain the confidence of employers, investors,
consumers and workers, rather than being partisan. A curious feature is that
in some ways they breach the distinction, sharply felt in the USA, between
administrative, legislative and judicial activities (seeseparation of powers).
Not only do they make regulations, but they assess penalties for breaching
them and hear their own appeals against their judgments. Other countries have
similar bodies. In the United Kingdom, for example, a number of regulatory
agencies have been introduced to oversee the activities of formerly nationalized
monopolies (seeprivatization). However, these seldom have as much inde-
pendent power as the US agencies; the roles performed by the US regulatory
agencies are elsewhere more likely to be handled by the mainstreamcivil
service.
Representation
Representation is a political concept that arises in a variety of contexts, with
subtly but importantly shifting meanings. Technically it means simply a system
in which the interests or beliefs of many are ‘represented’ before some
decision-making body by only one or a few people working on behalf of
the many. In parliamentary terms representation refers to the constitutional
system for electing members of the legislative body who will work for the
interests of those who elected them, for whom they are ‘representative’. In
other political contexts representation may mean the massorsome governing
e ́lite choosing a few people from the many not normally allowed access to
decision-making to come to meetings to pass on the views of those they
‘represent’. It does not follow, either in theory or practice, that representatives
have any share in the making of decisions. Anyone can ‘make representations’
to a decision-maker, and may or may not seriously be listened to. So, for
example, as a result of student activism in the 1960s, many universities have
elaborate systems to provide student representation on university senates, but
very few have allowed students an equal, if any, voice in policy-making.
Representation