The Organ of Experience

Abstract

Building on Wilsonian foundations, this article present the normative case for a special, central role for public servants in the design and redesign of public law, including constitutions. Central to the author’s argument are Wilson’s characterization of public administration as “the State’s experiencing organ” and his contention that public administration is the primary institution engaged day to day in negotiating the dynamic tension between public and private in a liberal democracy. The author identifies and counters three probable objections to public administrators fulfilling this distinctive role. He concludes with a defense of this role conception for public administration, stressing the obstacles to full realization, and the obligations it imposes on future scholars and public servants.