Public Authority and the Public Interest

Abstract

Our paper reviews Marxist, pluralist and conservative theories of the state under capitalism from the standpoint of evidence on United States federal taxing and spending during the 1980s. The deficit panic is a product of the political stratum that defines the public interest as actions opposed to private interests because then they cannot be accused of selling out. Though there is no institutional state in America (committee chairs come closest), there is a state of mind that can be called `stateness'. There is also an important set of arguments conducted on grounds of public interests. The trouble is that the public interest defined as deficit reduction is opposed to majority rule. We urge renewed concern over maintaining authoritative procedures rather than subordinating democracy to deficits.