Public Interest in the United States

Concept of Public Interest

In the U.S., in the context of Political Participation, Interest Groups and Lobbying, Public Interest has the following meaning: Policy or action aimed at providing benefits to a broad public, rather than to a specific group of people. Often associated with collective action. (Source of this definition of Public Interest : University of Texas)

Public Interest

Public Interest

Resources

Further Reading

• Civil Rights Litigation by Organizations: Constraints and Choices, Wasby, Stephen L., 68: 337-352 (Apr.-May '85, AJS Judicature)
• Ensuring Access to Justice: The Role of Interest Group Lawyers in the 60s Campaign for Civil Rights, Heck, Edward V. and Stewart, Joseph, Jr., 66: 84-95 (Aug. '82, AJS Judicature)
• Law School and Professional Responsibility: The Impact of Legal Education on Public Interest Practice, Stover, Robert V., 66: 194-206 (Nov. '82, AJS Judicature)
• Legal Services Before the Supreme Court, Lawrence, Susan E., 72: 266-273 (Feb.-Mar. '89, AJS Judicature)
• Lessons from Brown for today's public interest lawyers, Morrison, Alan B., 88: 60-65 (Sept.-Oct. '04, AJS Judicature)
• Should Courts Redress Citizens' Grievances? (query), Halpern, Charles R., 60: 162-163 (Nov. '76, AJS Judicature)
• State Post-Conviction Representation of Defendants Sentenced to Death, Wilson, Richard J. and Spangenberg, Robert L., 72: 331-337 (Apr.-May '89, AJS Judicature)
• What Next for Public Interest Law? (query), Lesnick, Howard, 60: 466-467 (May '77, AJS Judicature)

• Resources

  See Also

  • Political Participation
  • Interest Groups
  • Lobbying

  Resources

  See Also

• Legal Topics.

Bureaucracy; Civil Service; Conflict Of Interest; Democracy; General Will; National Interest; Public Policy; Responsibility.

Arrow Possibility Theorem; Bentham, Jeremy; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Habermas, Jörgen; Interest Groups and Interests; Pareto Optimum; Philosophy, Political; Preferences; Psychology; Public Interest Advocacy; Public Policy; Public Sector; Public Welfare; Rational Choice Theory; Rawls, John; Rousseau, Jean-Jacques; Utilitarianism; Welfare Economics

American Civil Liberties Union ; Consumer Protection ; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

PUBLIC GOOD.

Further Reading (Books)

Bailey, Stephen K. 1962 The Public Interest: Some Operational Dilemmas. Pages 96_106 in Carl J. Fried-rich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Bodenheimer, Edgar 1962 Prolegomena to a Theory of the Public Interest. Pages 205_217 in Carl J. Fried-rich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Cohen, Julius 1962 A Lawman’s View of the Public Interest. Pages 155_161 in Carl J. Friedrich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Colm, Gerhard (1960) 1962 The Public Interest: Essential Key to Public Policy. Pages 115_128 in Carl J. Friedrich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Downs, Anthony 1962 Public Interest: Its Meaning in a Democracy. Social Research 29:1-36.

Frankel, Charles 1962 The Democratic Prospect. New York: Harper.

Frankfurter, Felix (1930) 1964 The Public and Its Government. Boston: Beacon.

Friedrich, Carl J. (editor) 1962 The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Green, Thomas Hill (1882) 1960 Lectures on the Principles of Political Obligation. London: Longmans. _ Published posthumously.

Herring, Pendleton 1936 Public Administration and the Public Interest. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Leys, Wayne A. R.; and Perry, Charner M. 1959 Philosophy and the Public Interest. Chicago: Committee to Advance Original Work in Philosophy.

Lippmann, Walter 1955 Essays in the Public Philosophy. Boston: Little.

Maciver, Robert M. (1947)1963 The Web of Government. New York: Macmillan.

Further Reading (Books 2)

Meyerson, Martin; and Banfield, Edward C. 1955 Politics, Planning, and the Public Interest: The Case of Public Housing in Chicago. Glencoe, 111.: Free Press. _ A paperback edition was published in 1965.

Montgomery, John D. 1962 Public Interest in the Ideologies of National Development. Pages 218_226 in Carl J. Friedrich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Pye, Lucian 1962 Politics, Personality, and Nation Building: Burma’s Search for Identity. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.

Schubert, Glendon A. 1957 The Public Interest in Administrative Decision-making: Theorem, Theosophy, or Theory? American Political Science Review 51: 346-368.

Schubert, Glendon A. 1961 The Public Interest: A Critique of the Theory of a Political Concept. New York: Free Press.

Schubert, Glendon A. 1962 Is There a Public Interest Theory? Pages 162_176 in Carl J. Friedrich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Sorauf, Frank J. 1957 Public Interest Reconsidered. Journal of Politics 19:616-639.

Sorauf, Frank J. 1962 The Conceptual Muddle. Pages 183_190 in Carl J. Friedrich (editor), The Public Interest. Nomos No. 5. New York: Atherton.

Further Reading (Articles)

Arrow, Kenneth. 1963. Social Choice and Individual Values. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley.

Denzau, Arthur, and Michael Munger. 1986. Legislators and Interest Groups: How Unorganized Interests Get Represented. American Political Science Review 80: 89_106.

Fishkin, James. 1993. Democracy and Deliberation: New Directions for Democratic Reform. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Habermas, Jörgen. 1996. Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy. Trans. William Rehg. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Jay, John, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. 1787. The Federalist #10: The Union as a Safeguard against Domestic Faction and Insurrection. The New York Packet, November 23.

Jay, John, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. 1788. The Federalist #51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances between the Different Departments. The New York Packet, February 8.

Kaldor, Nicholas. 1939. Welfare Propositions in Economics. Economic Journal 69: 549_552.

Mouffe, Chantal. 2000. The Democratic Paradox. New York: Verso.

Rappaport, Julian. 1977. Community Psychology: Values, Research, and Action. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson.

Rawls, John. 1971. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. 1947. The Social Contract. New York: Hafner. (Orig. published in 1762.)

Michael Munger

More Related Articles

Aron, Nan. Liberty and Justice for All: Public Interest Lawin the 1980s and Beyond. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1989.

Baum, Robert A. Public Interest Law: Where Law Meets Social Action. New York: Oceana Publications, 1987.

Epstein, Lee, et al., eds. Public Interest Law: An Annotated Bibliography and Research Guide. New York: Garland, 1992.

Alan B.Morrison

National interest and other sacred cows, New Straits Times; November 25, 2005; ZAINAL AZNAM YUSOF

Interests from deposits, Daily News (New York, NY); November 26, 2010

Interest netting study: Notice 96-18, United States. Internal Revenue Bulletin; April 1, 1996; Anonymous

Interests from deposits., Daily News (Colombo, Sri Lanka); November 26, 2010

Managing Interest Rate Exposure: Some Simple Tools for Financial Managers, Government Finance Review; August 1, 1996; Forsythe, Dall W.

Regional Planning Interests Bill Passed – a New Layer of Approval for Resource Projects in Queensland, M
ondaq Business Briefing; March 28, 2014; Alcorn, Kelly

Public Interest Litigation in Sri Lanka, Daily News (Colombo, Sri Lanka); May 4, 2012

Why Are Interest Rates So Low?, Economic Commentary (Cleveland); April 11, 2013; Haubrich, Joseph G.

Conflicts of interests are found in many bills, Deseret News (Salt Lake City); February 16, 2009; Bob Bernick Jr. Deseret News;

Interest Accrual on Attorney’s Fee Awards, The Review of Litigation; January 1, 2004; Kemphaus, Nick J. Bales, Richard A.

COMMENT: Interest Rates Will Have to Be Kept Down, Mortgage Strategy; December 6, 2010

Special interests fund races, Deseret News (Salt Lake City); February 9, 2003; Copyright 2003 Deseret News By Bob Bernick Jr. and

Interest Rate Pass-Through in Turkey and Impact of Global Financial Crisis: Asymmetric Threshold Cointegration Analysis, Journal of Business Economics and Management; February 1, 2013; Yuksel, Ebru Ozcan, Kivilcim Metin

INTEREST INCOME STILL DOMINATES BANKS’ OPERATING INCOME, Indonesian Commercial Newsletter; August 14, 1995

ADVERTISED INTEREST MAY BE MISLEADING, Post-Tribune (IN); December 13, 1987

Interest Groups, Encyclopedia of the American Constitution; January 1, 2000

Self-charged interest offset OK: limited victory for partners/S shareholders; management fees bar remains., The Practical Accountant; October 1, 2002; Stevens, Michael G.

Interest Groups and Presidential Approval, Presidential Studies Quarterly; September 1, 2012; Cohen, Jeffrey E.

Money and Interest Rates, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review; September 22, 2001; Monnet, Cyril Weber, Warren E.

Conflict of interest guidelines: too little or too much?, Canadian Parliamentary Review; December 22, 1998; Lindy Kasperski, and others

Public Interest in the Context of International Disputes

The Private and Public Interest Factors in International Civil Litigation

Analysis of the Private and Public Interest Factors, PIPER AIRCRAFT CO. v. REYNO HOWE .v GOLDCORP INVESTMENTS, LTD HARRISON v. WYETH LABORATORIES DIVISION OF AMERICAN HOME PRODUCTS CORPORATION Notes on Piper, Hower and Wyeth

Concept of Public Interest

In the U.S., in the context of Political Participation, Interest Groups and Lobbying, Public Interest has the following meaning: Policy or action aimed at providing benefits to a broad public, rather than to a specific group of people. Often associated with collective action. (Source of this definition of Public Interest : University of Texas)

Public Interest

Resources

See Also

• Political Participation
• Interest Groups
• Lobbying

Resources

See Also

• Abuse of Process
• International Judicial Assistance in Civil Matters
• International Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters
• International Judicial Assistance in Administrative Matters
• Cross-Border Discovery
• Abroad Evidence