Is Kitsch in Local Public Administration an Effect of the Discretionary Power?
Is Kitsch in Local Public Administration an Effect of the Discretionary Power?

Author(s): Valentina Cornea
Subject(s): Public Administration
Published by: Societatea de Stiinte Juridice si Administrative
Keywords: administration; kitsch; opportunity; ophelimity; social utility;
Summary/Abstract: The role of local administration is to develop good policies and decisions in order to satisfy the public interest. In the present study, the principles of aesthetical analysis are related to the criteria of opportunity by which the local public administration guides in appreciating the opportunities of the administrative acts and the strategies of action. The idea that the administrative practices of the local public authorities, legal and justifiable by admitting the discretionary power are in the position of being caught by kitsch is argued for. Inadequacy, overcrowding, mediocrity are the main manifestations of kitsch in the administration and is often confused with modernization. By replacing the aesthetic ideal of “beauty” with that of “pleasure” or “attractiveness”, the phenomenon leads to populist decisions to the detriment of those having social utility. The paper points that aesthetic judgement raises the probability of finding valuable arguments and solutions that are good for the process of debating and adopting decisions. In this study the concept is approximated by examples. This methodological strategy is applied in order to ensure the passing from a concrete connotation to the explicit scientifically stated. By aesthetical analysis the characteristics of kitsch in public administration are identified, as well as its premises and consequences.

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