Dr Nicolas Laos
(Founder and President of the Kairological Society – Reality Restructuring Resources Inc, & RIEAS Member of International Advisory Board)
Copyright: www.rieas.gr
Introduction
Policy analysis underpins and informs policy making, even if there is a lengthy lag between policy analysis and its gradual absorption into political debate. Once established as common sense, a text of policy analysis becomes incredibly powerful, because it delineates not only what is the object of knowledge but also what it is sensible to talk about or suggest. If one thinks and acts outside the framework of the dominant text of policy analysis, he risks more than simply the judgment that his recommendations are wrong; his entire moral attitude may be ridiculed or seen as dangerous just because his theoretical assumptions are deemed unrealistic. Therefore, defining common sense and, in essence, what is ‘reality’ and ‘realistic’ is the ultimate act of political power. Policy analysis does not simply explain or predict, it tells us what possibilities exist for human action and intervention; it defines both our explanatory possibilities and our moral and practical horizons. Hence, ontology and epistemology matter, and the stakes are far more considerable than at first sight seem to be the case..... Read more