This political problem is matched by a theoretical consideration, perhaps the most important way Foucault's work intersects with the study of public administration. As is well-known, Foucault argued against humanism and undermined this era's confidence in its ability to progress and develop. This is not to say, as Foucault's critics sometimes claim, that he was misanthropic, excessively negative, or simply a pessimist. Instead, Foucault sought to expose the ideological baggage that any commitment to rationalism carries with it. Translated into the terms of public administration, this means that the reforms and assumptions we now apply to administrative practice might not represent as clear a victory for progress, depoliticization, and social solution as we students of administration often assume.