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Habitus and the practice of public service

Author

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  • Peggy McDonough

    (University of Toronto, Canada)

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the public service ethos under municipal government restructuring. Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice, it suggests, first, that public service makes public servants through socialization in the public service habitus.This gives practice a prereflective, embodied and immediate character. Second, it links the public service habitus to field struggles over the definition of the public good. Front-line workers’ tacit recognition of a ‘traditional’ vision of the universal good means that they will defend it in the face of threats by those attempting to impose alternative visions of the state as an extension of the market. Finally, the article offers an empirically grounded understanding of public servants making public service.Through their daily practices, including the practical practice of public service, embodied public service and defence of public service, workers reproduce, usually unconsciously, this traditional vision of the public good.

Suggested Citation

  • Peggy McDonough, 2006. "Habitus and the practice of public service," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 20(4), pages 629-647, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:20:y:2006:i:4:p:629-647
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017006069805
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bach, Stephen., 2000. "Decentralization and privatization in municipal services : the case of health services," ILO Working Papers 993435483402676, International Labour Organization.
    2. Gail Hebson & Damian Grimshaw & Mick Marchington, 2003. "PPPs and the Changing Public Sector Ethos: Case-Study Evidence from the Health and Local Authority Sectors," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 17(3), pages 481-501, September.
    3. Mats Alvesson & Hugh Willmott, 2002. "Identity Regulation as Organizational Control: Producing the Appropriate Individual," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 619-644, July.
    4. repec:ilo:ilowps:343548 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Kevin Doogan, 1997. "The Marketization of Local Services and the Fragmentation of Labour Markets," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 286-302, June.
    6. Bach, Stephen., 2000. "Decentralization and privatization in municipal services the case of health services," ILO Working Papers 995164758702676, International Labour Organization.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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