40 2: Th eories of Political Control of Bureaucracy
foundered, by common consent, but for various alleged reasons: It was em-
pirically untrue to what happens and is impossible to operationalize; it was
presumptuous if not impious, putting profane hands on a sacred scheme; it
concealed ethical problems and encouraged illegal action. So, formally or os-
tensibly, we put the dichotomy aside. But at the same time, it lingers, both as
an idea and as a practice. And I don’t judge the lingering as simple inertia, a
cultural lag. Th e twofold schema has too much going for it in logic and useful-
ness simply to disappear. We do, commonsensically, decide and execute, set
policy and administer. (1986, 153)Th eories of political control of bureaucracy are, in sum, among the most em-
pirically robust and theoretically elegant in public administration.