This article examines the vision of the state as a purposive association, which undergirds much of the public administration literature, and explores its suitability in light of the postmodern condition. It is argued that a vision of purposive association is inappropriate and dangerous, given the diversity of political subcultures and language games characteristic of postmodernity, and that a more useful vision of the state here is that of a state as a civil association. The linkages between this latter vision and our constitutional tradition are explored and implications are drawn for the study of public administration.
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