The related fields of political science, public administration, and policy analysis sorely need a standard for evaluating the outcomes, management structures, and processes, programs, and policies. The appropriate standard for evaluation is the much-maligned and often forgotten concept of the public interest. We can assess the public interest by projecting and evaluating consequences in terms of agreed-upon values-values our common sense tells us rank highly in measuring the quality of people's lives. The agreed-upon consequences and the sometimes competing values must then be weighed in a structured and reasoned argument.
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