Consensus and Reforms in the "Great Society"

One main reason the Great Society never took of} was that its programs were not buttressed by a thorough bargaining process with the appropriate interests. While innovative programs can be "sold" to the voters, a consensus among the myriad interest groups and publics that comprise the American polity. such as supported federal aid to education. is vital if they are to survive. To this end. a mechanism that would function outside our relatively inef}ectual representative structure, one used successfully in France, is proposed: participatory planning. Existing components of such a plan and others that would be required, such as more sophisticated social data, are outlined.