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AbstractMany theorists agree that there has been a shift in the locus of power from the legislature to the executive in modern Western democracies. The political importance of the administrative system has therefore increased dramatically. In this review of the literature it is argued that this has not led to greater efficiency, nor can it promise greater stability. The neo‐Marxist analyses of the crisis tendencies of advanced capitalism offer more promising hypotheses. They claim that administrative and public sector institutions cannot meet the goals set for them in a capitalist society and that they tend to generate radical dissent among sections of their own workers. Yet these state institutions also lay the foundations for a socialist society in which institutions are guided by social values other than short‐term profitability. While this paper supports the neo‐Marxist arguments, it argues that they stand in need of empirical testing, both by comparative historical study and by research into the changes in popular political culture.

Literature on the recent power shift from the legislative to the executive in Western democracies is reviewed, focusing on the increased political importance of government administrative systems. Critiques of earlier pluralist theories in technocratic & corporatist models are summarized; particular attention is given to neo-Marxist analyses of crisis in advanced capitalism, noting the claims that: (1) administrative & public sector institutions cannot meet the goals set for them; (2) these systems tend to generate radical dissent among sectors of their own workers; & (3) they also prepare for a socialist society, in which short-term profitability no longer guides such institutions. While these neo-Marxist views are deemed on the whole correct, their need for empirical testing, both by comparative historical study & research on popular political culture, is emphasized. Relevant criteria of efficiency, stability, & legitimation for administrative systems are summarized. 40 References. Modified HA.

Jurgen Habermas's critical theory & recent attempts to apply it to the practical problems of social life are reviewed (eg, Forster, John [Ed], Critical Theory and Public Life, 1985 [see IRPS No. 34/86c00688]), addressing the issue of how to develop theory that meets its own critical standards & is at the same time empirically grounded. The limited use made of empirical findings in the construction of critical theory & the problems of applying it in its present form are outlined. A fully dialectical approach to the building of critical theory & to its application in empirical research is proposed, & the essential elements of such an approach are outlined. AA