RATIONALIZING THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT: THE CONSERVATIVES, 1970-1974.

The White Paper The Reorganization of Central Government (Cmnd 4506) not merely announced extensive changes in the organizational structure of Whitehall, it did so in unusually ambitious and philosophically explicit terms. This paper traces the origins of the policies announced in the white paper, identifies the main groups and individuals involved, and shows how some elements were more successfully implemented than others. The concluding analysis seeks to penetrate behind the functional-rationalist vocabulary of Cmnd 4506 and identify an underlying set of choice criteria and decision procedures which permit a fuller explanation of the events of 1970-4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]