In preparing and researching any book an enormous number of debts are incurred and this book's compilation has been no different than others. I would, therefore, like to thank all of those people who assisted me even though I do not name them individually. I would like to express my especial thanks to Anthony King for his advice as my Ph.D. supervisor when the groundwork for this book was laid. At the same time Anthony Barker, David McKay and Graham Wilson at Essex University provided me with valuable encouragement and insights. A particular debt is, however, owed to Bob Jessop for broadening my horizons to the way in which problems could be conceptualised in the social sciences. I thank him for that. For their assistance on the substantive sides of the questions discussed here special thanks are also due to Wyndham Thomas, J. R. James, Peter Hall and the myriad of nameless but not faceless civil servants and pressure group leaders and officials who gave so much of their valuable time to me. David Coates, Peter Nailor, Jack Hayward and Alan Child deserve a particular vote of thanks for reading through the drafts of the manuscript and offering useful advice on style and argument. If the book reads well then part of any thanks should go to them, as well as the sub-editing staff at Cambridge University Press. It is also necessary for me to thank Janet, Sally, Enid and Catherine for their assistance in the typing and preparation of the manuscript over numerous redrafts and revisions. They were always prepared to go over the ground once more whenever asked and I cannot thank them enough for their efforts.