Rationality and power : democracy in practice
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Rationality and power : democracy in practice
（Morality and society）
University of Chicago Press, 1998
- : pbk
- Other Title
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Case-baseret studie af planlægning, politik og modernitet
- Uniform Title
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Case-baseret studie af planlægning, politik og modernitet
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-275) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In the Enlightenment tradition, rationality is considered well-defined, independent of context; we know what rationality is, and its meaning is constant across time and space. However, Bent Flyvbjerg argues that rationality is context-dependent and that the crucial context is determined by decision-makers' political power. Flyvbjerg takes us behind the scenes to uncover the real politics - and real rationality - of public administration and planning in an internationally acclaimed project for environmental improvement in the Danish city of Aalborg. The result is a narrative that is both concrete and general, current and timeless. Drawing on the ideas of Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Habermas, and Foucault, Flyvbjerg reads the Aalborg case as a metaphor of modernity and of modern politics. Flyvbjerg shows how power actually distorted policy deliberation over a policy aimed at, among other things, reducing auto traffic in downtown Aalborg. He demonstrates how modern "rationality" can only be an ideal when confronted with the real rationalities involved in decision-making by administrators and policy makers.
Flyvbjerg then elaborates on how this problem can be avoided so that fruitful deliberation and action can occur.
Table of Contents
Preface Map of Downtown Aalborg 1: In Some Remote Corner of the Universe 2: The Aalborg Project 3: Bacon and Nietzsche Come to Northern Jutland 4: Power Defines Reality 5: Rationality as Frozen Politics 6: The Rationality of Resistance 7: The Weakness of the Better Argument 8: The Longue Duree of Power 9: Rationality in the Context of Power 10: Interpretation over Truth 11: Antagonistic Reactions at Play 12: Farewell to Reason 13: The Dream Plan 14: Knowledge Kills Action 15: Minutiae Matter 16: Myths Die Hard 17: Exit the Innovators 18: A Single Drama...with an Endless Play of Dominations 19: Reality Check 20: Power Has a Rationality That Rationality Does Not Know Postscript App. A: Main Actors in the Aalborg Project App. B: Chronology of the Aalborg Project App. C: Elements in the Original Aalborg Project Notes Index
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