As this already serves to indicate, the dominant themes in the existing literature
on globalization and public policy all point to an adversarial relationship between
globalization and public policy—in which the former is seen to select strongly
for the depoliticization, privatization, and technicization of the latter. In this
context, it is perhaps hardly surprising that commentators like David Marquand
should point to a contemporary ‘‘decline of the public’’ (2004). Yet before rushing
to endorse such a pessimistic conclusion it is important to acknowledge
that most of the themes of the literature already discussed rest on strong assumptions
as to the nature, extent, and consequences of globalization.Whether acknowledged
as such, these are unavoidably empirical claims and, moreover, empirical
claims that do not always stand up to a close consideration of the available
evidence.