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The Paradox of Power in Planning Practice

Planners rely on the protocol of the professional planner to cope with the politics of planning. However, this protocol promises more than it delivers as a source of moral authority, and delivers more than it promises as a source of political power. The protocol simultaneously resolves and reproduces the liberal paradox between freedom and justice. Hence, the ambivalence planners frequently express about their encounters with power on the job may reflect their use of this protocol.

Two planning stories drawn from face-to-face interviews illustrate how two practitioners facing similar problems adopt different versions of the professional protocol to justify their actions. Analysis of each tale, using critical and postmodern theory, explores how the professional protocol excuses the exercise of power in ways that obscure the liberal paradox. A third planning story offers an example of how a practitioner handles the inherent tension of professional practice in a liberal society without using the professional protocol either to impose closure or to foster premature reassurance.

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