Annotation 4 (revised)

When mentioning the relationship between individuals and public, people may associate public with government. A method of government which influences public and individuals very much is public policy. It is created to achieve public interests. Meanwhile, it will bring great influence to individuals. Public policy is in the practical level. However, there are still many investigations about its theory. The following paragraphs will discuss the concept of public policy and the possible situation when it works.

From the word “public” policy, we can know that this conduct relates to common people in a society, not just specific people. Public policy is often considered to possess positive effect to public interest. However, here is a problem shows up. There are countless experts and scholars debate the so-called “public interest” from then till now. British scholar Bentham considered public interest is the maximal accumulation of individuals’ interests and happiness. However, this argument has been overthrown by later scholars. Because of different backgrounds, customs, and personal values, every person may have different way of looking at interest. For example, a person likes object A, but other person doesn’t like it. In fact, public interest is a blur concept and hard to define what it is exactly. It can be various for idea, culture, and time. Therefore, some people even think that public interest doesn’t exist (Wang, n.d.) However, most of people still believe its existence and it needs every person’s attention and care. Making every person in a society has a common consensus about ideal interest is an important way to keep the stability of a society. With this, people can work for a common public interest together. To achieve public interest, public policy is a direct and effective way. It is usually established and executed by lead-class, such as government. Every government in the world highly cares about the public policy issue. It can influence from individuals, society, and even to nation.

 When public policy is executed, some people may think it brings them inconvenience and even harm. They certainly think it’s the violation to their individual interest and try to resist the “public” force. The reason that people resist may be that people can’t adapt to it and feel different from their old custom (Tsai, C.C. & Huang, C.Y. 2002.) Actually, it is a common phenomenon when a new public policy is executed. However, there is no accomplishment without sacrifice. For the public interest, individuals must have to sacrifice and devote themselves to some degree. Because of the “public”, a person has to limit his or her freedom and gives up individual interest. The reason for this is the limitation of resource. It’s sometimes hard to take individuals and society into consideration at the same time. Besides, public policy is not just the issue of government. There is no completely perfect policy. Every people in a society should take participation into the operation of a policy. People can supervise the formulation and execution of it and help it work toward right direction. In conclusion, public interest is an important concept for present people. Maybe it relates to you or not. After all, people should care society not just themselves. Meanwhile, the society’s interest should develop with the base of maximal unharmed individual interest.

Reference:

1. Wang, Y.S. (n.d. ). The Theory of Environmental Scheme. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from http://140.134.4.2/~up/term%20paper/952/9666.pdf

2. Tsai, C.C. & Huang, C.Y. (2002). Agenda-Setting Research on Public Policy : A Cast     Study In Taipei. Retrieved December 22, 2013, from  http://ccs.nccu.edu.tw/UPLOA       D_FILES/HISTORY_PAPER_FILES/366_1.pdf