Liberty! Fraternity! Analytic Capability!
It is contended that the notion of a free society requires that individuals & groups have access to information & the analytic capacity to utilize & manipulate such information. The Margaret Thatcher administration's elimination of the Central Policy Review Staff & creation of the Prime Minister's Policy Unit is interpreted as exemplifying the British government's disregard for analytical reasoning in political & social decision making. It is contended that the state's "semimystical" belief in the advantages of markets prompted the repudiation of analytical policy decision making. The Thatcher administration's abandonment of rational analysis is viewed as effecting the destruction of multiple advocacy. Dutch & British examples of institutions that provide analytical advice illustrate how analytical reasoning can be reimplemented into the British government. 11 References. J. W. Parker