Book Reviews : The Governmental Process: Political Interests and Public Opinion. By DAVID B. TRUMAN. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1951. Pp. xii, 544. $5.00.)
| Date | 01 December 1951 |
| Published date | 01 December 1951 |
| Author | Charles M. Hardin |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295100400419 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
658
authority
is
to
be
exercised.
It
is
to
the
credit of
Marsilius
that
he
was
aware
of
these
problems-that
he
tried
to
explain
and
prove
his belief
and
to
work
out
its
consequences.
Mr.
Gewirth’s
chief
concern
in
this
volume
is
to
analyze
this
awareness
and
to
compare
Marsilius
with
the
political
thinkers
influencing,
combatting,
or
influenced
by
him.
Although
no
single
philosopher
is
offered
as
a
type
of
perfection,
the
effect
of
the
systematic
comparison
with
many
others
is
to
make
evident
the
narrow-
ness
of
Marsilius’
approach.
Thus
we
are
warned
against
certain
tend-
encies
that
are
widespread
today.
As
one
example,
Marsilius
wrote
under
the
stimulus
of
very
special
circumstances,
and
he
leaned
too
far
in
the
direction
of
explaining
all
.
problems
in
terms
of
a
single
set
of
villains-in
his
case,
the
pope
and
the
clergy.
Like
Marxism
and
other
monistically
inclined
systems
of
thought,
he
therefore
gave
too
little
attention
to
alternative
factors
of
equal
impor-
tance.
Then,
too,
Marsilius
limited
himself
in
a
much
less
obvious
but
no
less
consequential
manner
by
adopting,
as
most
political
thinkers
have
done,
a
restricted
and
insufficiently
examined
theoretical
orientation.
He
based
his
arguments
upon
biological
notions
and
concerned
himself
pri-
marily
with
questions
of
power
and
efficacy.
It
is
this
orientation
of
Marsilius
which
makes
him
appear
modern,
and
herein
lies
his
chief
utility
as
an
example
of
what
not
to
do;
for
Marsilius,
no
less
than
his
modern
successors,
constructs
a
political
theory
which
is
inadequate
to
all
those
human
values
which
suffer
when
they
are
analyzed
only
bio-
l00’i(’~l1v
nnci
in
+Prm<
nf
nowPr.
------
WILLIAM
KENT.
University
of
Utah.
The
Governmental
Process:
Political
Interests
and
Public
Opinion.
By
DAVID
B.
TRUMAN.
(New
York:
Alfred
A.
Knopf,
Inc.
1951.
Pp.
xii,
544.
$5.00.)
Taking
A.
F.
Bentley’s
classic
Process
o
f Government
as
its
&dquo;principal
benchmark,&dquo;
the
book
under
review
aims
at
&dquo;A
conception
of
politics
that
adequately
accounts
for
the
operation
of
political
groups.&dquo;
Part
One
deals
with
groups
in
the
political
process.
Human
life
is
social.
From
the
family
to
the
nation,
individuals
act
and
express
them-
selves
essentially
in
groups.
Interaction
and
interrelationships
are
key
con-
cepts.
&dquo;Interest
groups,&dquo;
based
&dquo;on
one
or
more
shared
attitudes,&dquo;
make
&dquo;certain
claims
upon
other
groups
in
society
for
the
establishment,
main-
tenance,
or
enhancement
of
forms
of
behavior
that
are
implied
by
the
shared
attitudes.&dquo;
&dquo;Associations&dquo;
are
formed
out
of
the
tangential
rela-
tionships
of
two
or
more
groups.
Groups
and
associations
which
make
their
claims
through
government
are
&dquo;political.&dquo;
The
establishment
or
i
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