Public Administration again is examining itself. Given the history of the field, this exercise probably is a sign of health. While self-scrutiny can be overdone-the late mathematician,John von Neumann,once described the state of a discipline that has become far too involved with self-study by coining the term "baroquism"- a reexamination by public administrations of where the field has been and where it is going appears worthwhile. As an intellectual enterprise, public administration has reached the point of radical departure from its own past.