Where are examples of social scientists who are thoroughly partisan, openly and honestly so? They are almost all Marxists who confess a commitment to the working class and acknowledge that their preferred policies would be injurious to properties groups in society. Among mainstream social scientists and social researchers are many who are often called partisan-Milton Friedman, for example. But almost all of them, Friedman included, see themselves as nonpartisan, as speaking for everyone's best interests. If my argument is correct, they are deceiving themselves, and, if we believe them, they are also deceiving us. They are also distorting their research. If there are many partisan non-Marxist social scientists and social researchers who are trying to follow such a prescription as mine for thoughtfully acknowledged partisanship, not many of them have yet come out of the closet. -Charles E. Lindblom, from Who Needs What Social Research for Policymaking?




