A cultural theory of budgeting

My aim is to bring together various strands of thought about the relationship between cultures and budgets into a single essay. Cultural theory is a way to bring what different people want and why they want it into budgeting. If cultures are conqruent with budgetary processes, this symmetry should show up in the standard topics of the subject. Thus I shall deal with the form of budgeting, auditing, budgetary balance, and deficits. I shall also examine the place of the budgetary base—agreed understandings on totals and items—among the political cultures. Finally, I shall provide a cultural explanation for the growth of government.     

Democracy as a coalition of cultures

Aaron Wildavsky was until his recent death Class of 1940 Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and a member of the Survey Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. A brief appreciation of his life and work follows.     

A poverty of distinction

Homogenizing the poor, treating them as a shapeless blob, is not only dehumanizing but also makes them candidates for a single set of public policies. We propose to show, instead, using cultural theory, that there are different types of poor people, who follow different strategies in coping with or overcoming their condition.