Common Human Needs: A Story from the Prehistory of Government by Special Interest

Abstract

In 1944, Charlotte Towle was commissioned by the Federal Bureau of Public Assistance to write a set of guidelines for supervision of public assistance workers. Published as Common Human Needs in 1945, Towle's work met with immediate success. However, in 1947 the book became embroiled in a heated debate over a sentence in which Towle had used the term "socialized state." The negative press coverage that resulted was used in a campaign by the American Medical Association (AMA) to defeat President Harry S. Truman's efforts to establish a national health-care program. The sentence was cited to discredit Oscar Ewing, administrator of the Federal Security Agency, who was appointed by Truman to oversee the development of what the AMA called "socialized medicine." As a result of the controversy, Ewing ordered the plates for Common Human Needs destroyed, thereby making the book into a cause célèbre. Its story serves as an early example of the impact of special interests in shaping government policy and affecting the lives of private citizens.