A contending perspective, that of technocratic counsel, begins from the assumption that professional policy analysts operate in settings which as the of specialized knowledge, determine to a large extent the activities of producers. In this context the primary role of policy analysts is to legitimize-that is, justify in and technical terms-policy decisions made by the real holders of power. The technocratic counsel perspective may also be summarized in terms of several key propositions.
l. Major policy alternatives reflect conflicting values held by different segments of the community.
2. Value conflicts are associated with disparities of political power in the political system.
3. The choice of a given policy alternative symbolizes the victory of one segment of the community over another
4. Policymakers use scientific and technical justifications produced by policy analysts to suppress conflicts and legitimize choices after they have been made on political grounds.
5. The effective use of scientific and technical justification requires the maintenance of an image of policy analysis as a set of value neutral, impartial, and apolitical techniques.
6. Professional policy analysts, as the source of scientific and technical just cations, are expendable and therefore serve as convenient scapegoats for policies which fail