“Pioneers” of Managerial Thought: Woodrow Wilson Case

Abstract

The article focuses on the diversity of the struggle for priority in the history of managerial thought. The subject of the study is the role of the American political scientist and politician Woodrow Wilson in the development of the study of public administration. The article reveals the contradiction between historical facts and prevailing ideas about the priority of W. Wilson in the development of the public administration theory. This dichotomy is proven in particular through the use of generative artificial intelligence and large language models (ChatGPT). The article analyzes the struggle for W. Wilson’s priority in the creation of the public administration science and compares it with the outwardly similar story of the discovery of genetics by Gregor Mendel. The article shows that the external similarity of the “deferred priority” in the creation of two sciences — genetics and public administration — differs significantly in the internal logic and consequences of the “rediscovery” of conceptual innovations. We can say that the “deferred priority” of the American scientist turns into a false priority, but fixed by public opinion as real. A conclusion is drawn about the relevance of W. Wilson’s case for solving modern problems of economic cybernetics. The past forms the present and future and distorting the past we can’t understand the present and predict and manage the better future.