Statesmen as Philosophers: Written and Living Theories

Abstract

The periods in American history when learned men and public leaders effectively join hands to face current problems are comparatively few and far between. The paucity and long intervals are not for want of the frequent, mutual exhortation of theorists and practitioners to cooperate and give aid that is sorely needed. The nature of the demands they lay upon each other are often beyond reach. Theorists would like full blueprints of the various elements in the process by which decisions have been made. Practitioners complain that learned men find it difficult to think and act within the limits prescribed by real situations. Moreover, the “academic approach to policy problems is apt to exhibit two tendencies: the first is a tendency toward abstraction and generalization; the second is a tendency to emphasize historical analogies.” Decision-makers grow impatient with the judicious and painstaking habits of the scholar, his quest for knowledge of both past and present, and the luxury of reserving judgment in which he indulges.