Cooperation and Conflict: An Analysis of the Intercourse Among the Governments in San Bernardino County with Special Attention to San Bernardino-Redlands Area

Abstract

The individual in modern society is a creature of a complicated governmental structure. Today the average citizen is surrounded by a web of governmental authorities which influence and, to some extent, control his daily life. In order to protect his interests, a person not only must keep abreast of congressional policy formulation on questions of the Far East, universal military training, and increased income tax, but he must also be aware of State deliberation on highway construction, county consideration of smog control, municipal contemplation for the future water supply, special district decisions on soil conservation, and school district debates over building expansion. As the public is faced with the increasing specialization of the twentieth century and the resulting complexities of popular government, a significant fact stands out: it is more and more important that the citizen take an active role in his governments\u27 policy formulation, for the results affect him more intimately today, perhaps than at any other time, and because as the shadow of totalitarianism falls over a greater area of the globe it becomes most urgent that the people of the United States exercise their democratic heritage