"The Cult of Efficiency investigates our most fundamental concerns in an era where waste is a sin but the public trust remains sacred. Janice Gross Stein reveals how the discussion of efficiency in the delivery of public goods, such as education and health care, has risen to prominence in post-industrial society. She shows that when it becomes an end rather than a means, a value often more important than other values, and when we no longer ask the questions, "efficient at what?" or "for whom?" efficiency becomes a cult." "Stein demonstrates that efficiency is often a cloak for political agendas. In public schools, community clinics, and hospitals, she witnesses citizens engaging directly with the arguments of our times, redrawing the face of the state as it explores new ways of delivering public goods. They are calling not only for efficiency but for accountability and choice as they confront the dilemmas of democratic processes in a global age. By delivering this powerful message, The Cult of Efficiency does nothing less than set a new public agenda for citizens and their leaders alike."--Jacket.