symbol Specialists
The early Mesopotamian legal codes may be viewed as a response to the growing complexities of fixed urban settlements and to a new pattern of social organization designed for the distribution of commodities and ser ices, record keeping, and the maintenance of internal security and external defense. Concurrently, a growing consciousness of relations between knowl- edge and action fostered the growth of educated strata who specialized in the production of policy-relevant knowledge. These "symbol specialists," as Lasswell calls them, were responsible for forecasting the consequences of policies, for example, at the onset of the planting season or in times of war.8 While the primary means for producing policy-relevant knowledge was un scientific by present-day standards, since analysts used mysticism, ritual and the occult to forecast the future, such procedures were in part depen dent on evidence acquired through experience. Policy recommendations whether produced through magic, mysticism, or ritualistic purification were ultimately tested on pragmatic grounds. Hence, the authority of early producers of specialized knowledge was based partly on whether their advice