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1、chapter 1Policytodefine“policy”attheoutsetofaninquiryistoperpetrateaninjus-tice.Readersmaycomeawaythinkingthattheyunderstandpolicyandcandesignateitlikeaspecimeninamuseum,andtheymayevenhavetheillu-sionthatbeingabletodososomehowconstitutesknowledge.Infact,how-ever,establishingthemeaningofwordsissurpr
2、isinglydifficult.InWesternphilosophyPlatofirstundertookthetask,andsubsequentphilosophershaveoftenbeenconcernedwithlanguageandmeaning.Onepossibleun-derstandingofpolicymightbethatitisasociallyconstructed,authorita-tive,systematicsetofrulesthatgovernstheallocationofresources.Wecouldgoonandlistcompetin
3、gdefinitionsofpolicy;wecouldmodifyourdefinitionintheirlight.Intheend,though,whatwouldwehaveachieved?Wouldwehavegivenreadersinsight?Andwhataboutdefiningsuchwordsas“authoritative,”“rules,”“governs,”and“resources”?Thesearesurelyastroublesomeastheterm“policy.”Asisoftenthecase,breakingonewordintomany,pa
4、rticularlyiftheconstituentsaremoreproblematicthantheinitialword,explainsnothing.Anotherpreliminaryclarificationisneeded.Theword“social”israrelyusedinthisbookexceptasamodifieroftheword“policy.”Socialpolicyisasubsetofpolicy.Further,theword“society”isalsoavoided,exceptwhenitsmeaningisclearanduncontest
5、ed.Theterm“society”isoftenasmisleadingastheword“America”(asin“Whatisgoodforsociety?”or“WhatisgoodforAmerica?”).Itisevenmoremysteriousthatsociety,America,andevencorporations—pertheSupremeCourt’sCitizensUnitedrulingof2010—arespokenofaspersonalactors.Thussocietyneeds,wants,orasksformore2policyhealth;A
6、mericadeclaresawarondrugs;societyneedsbettereducation;andsocietyhasenteredtherevolutionaryageoftheInternet.Onlypersonsororganizationsmaywant,ornotwant,something.Asweshallargueexplicitly,what“society”wants,needs,orasksforisusuallywhathaveswant,need,oraskfor.Onlyrecently,withtheadventoftheeconomicrec
7、essionin2008,aretheneedsandrightsofhave-notsdiscussedinthemedia,exceptashuman-intereststories.Instead,have-notsareseenasobjectsofcharity,asmarginalpeoplewhomhaves,invariousfashions,wishtokeepmarginal.Inshor
