Charging for Government (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

Originally published in 1991, user charges and earmarked taxes are methods by which people pay directly for the services they recieve from government. As such they are frequently supported by those who oppose increased taxation, who argue that they are more like market transactions than traditional forms of taxation. This book explores the cogency of these arguments in the light of public choice analyses of political processes.




Open Government (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

First published in 1987 this book considers the practical implications of increasing public access to official information in Britain, both from the perspective of increasing Freedom of Information and reforming Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act. It draws attention to the practical problems such changes would pose for both politicians and civil servants working in an adversarial system of government. It examines the effects of proposed changes on the conventions which are a fundamental feature of the British constitution. It also considers the political significance of reforms, both to demands for increased public participation in policy-making and to actual policies. Local and international perspectives on open government are included in order to provide an informed insight into an important issue of contemporary concern.




Political Theories of Modern Government (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

This reissued work, originally published in 1985, is a uniquely broad and original survey of theories and beliefs about the growth, behaviour, performance and reform of the governments of modern Western democracies. After analysing the external pressures which have shaped modern governments, the author examines four different schools of political thought which seek to explain the behaviour and performance of governments, and which offer different remedies for the pluralism, corporatism and bureaucracy. To examine and test these general theories, the author looks closely at how governments actually work. The book is illustrated with examples drawn from various Western societies. The final chapters present the author’s own conclusion about the future role of government, the limits of market philosophy, the future of politics, and the principles and problems of institutional reform.




Principles of Government and Politics in the Middle Ages (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

In many respects this book, first published in 1961, marked a somewhat radical departure from contemporary historical writings. It is neither a constitutional nor a political history, but a historical definition and explanation of the main features which characterised the three kinds of government which can be discerned in the Middle Ages – government by the Pope, the King, the People. The author’s enviable knowledge of the sources – clerical, secular, legal, constitutional, liturgical, literary – as well as of modern literature enables him to demonstrate the principles upon which the papal government, the royal government, and the government of the people rested. He shows how the traditional theocratic forms of government came to be supplanted by forms of government based on the will of the people. Although concerned with the Middle Ages, the book also contains much that is of topical interest to the discerning student of modern institutions. Medieval history is made understandable to modern man by modern methods.




Fiscal Tiers (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

First published in 1984. This book brings together and develops the economic theory relating to the design and operation of systems of non-central government — positing major developments in several areas. It considers what functions systems most suitably perform in non-central governments, and their appropriate size and structure. How these authorities might finance themselves — by taxes, charges or loans — is analysed in detail. It also examines the use of grants by higher tiers of government and how such programmes should be designed. Concentrating on contemporary economic concerns, it relates the theory to practice in countries such as Australia, Canada, West Germany, the UK and USA.




Paths to International Political Economy (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

The problems of a troubled world economy and the essentially political issues of how it should be managed make up the stuff of international political economy. The overwhelming importance of these questions has drawn ever increasing numbers of students and teachers in universities, colleges and schools to study the subject. There are many paths into international political economy for them to follow and this volume, originally published in 1984, discusses most of them. The collection as a whole demonstrates that the field should be seen as the exclusive preserve of neither the economists nor the political scientists. On the contrary, there is much to learn from specialists - and practical people in government and business - with a variety of backgrounds. A rich selection is therefore offered, including history, population studies, money, trade, technology and law, from which the reader can pick and choose at will. The contributions point to the landmarks of the subject and provide useful tips on the best books to read and the most interesting ideas to look out for.




Routledge Revivals: The Politics of Urban Change (1979)


Book Description

First published in 1979, this book examines key planning policy areas such as land use planning, land values, housing and slum clearance, urban transport, industrial and regional economic location policies, and policies inner city policies to explain why particular policies have been adopted at particular times — assessing the role of political parties, bureaucrats and interests in setting the national policy agenda. Policy is also placed in the broader economic and social context and the question of whether, given contemporaneous constraints, a coherent national urban policy is possible is examined. Its focus on political parties’ role in urban change at the start of Thatcher-era upheavals makes this book especially valuable to students of urban sociology and the history of planning.




Fiscal Tiers (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

First published in 1984. This book brings together and develops the economic theory relating to the design and operation of systems of non-central government — positing major developments in several areas. It considers what functions systems most suitably perform in non-central governments, and their appropriate size and structure. How these authorities might finance themselves — by taxes, charges or loans — is analysed in detail. It also examines the use of grants by higher tiers of government and how such programmes should be designed. Concentrating on contemporary economic concerns, it relates the theory to practice in countries such as Australia, Canada, West Germany, the UK and USA.




The Government of Space


Book Description




J.S. Mill (Routledge Revivals)


Book Description

First published in 1974. As logician, economist, political theorist, practical politician and active champion of social freedom, John Stuart Mill is a figure of continuing importance. In this book the author does full justice to the range of Mill’s achievements, providing an introductory guide to his most important and best known writings including Autobiography, A System of Logic, Utilitarianism, Liberty, and The Subjugation of Women. In their treatment of his works, the author seeks to emphasise Mill’s approach to those issues — education, the conflict between social order and individual freedom, the unresolved state of the social sciences, rights and duties of citizens in a democratic state — which remain most alive to us today. At the same time Mill is seen as part of his own age, responding to the anxieties that beset his contemporaries. This book will be of interest to students of politics and philosophy.