System legitimacy rests on the appearance of responding, which frontline workers operationalize as programs.

Evidence

The legitimacy of the political and economic system depends on the appearance of providing for those who cannot provide for themselves and responding openly and fairly to citizens’ claims. Public service workers actively translate this requirement into programs. But government policy is not likely in fact to respond fully to the needs of citizens for at least two reasons relevant to this discussion. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 1317

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: ‘The Gap Between Appearance and Provision’ — how frontline staff convert symbolic legitimacy mandates into routinized program rules, accelerating stereotype sedimentation.