Community organization and the public interest.

The commitment to serve the "public interest"is often referred to by community organization and planning professionals. This idealized concept is examined and compared to the behavior of practitioners. The necessity for determining which publics, and whose interests, are to be served in order to find an appropriate approach are discussed. Whether the practitioners are to see themselves as technical expediters, change agents, or peacemakers, seems to be at issue. The past community organization commitment to a process as the ultimate guarantee of accomplishment is questioned and new directions are discussed.