Políticas públicas e linguagem: o papel das definições oficiais para a construção das capacidades estatais

Abstract

The purpose of this article, whose nature is theoretical and methodological, is to demonstrate the state capacities approach should apprehend the bureaucratic field as a symbolic dimension too.We consider the state actions, according to Pierre Bourdieu, construct principles of vision and division universally recognized, producing concrete effects on social reality.We intend to show that state agents concentrate symbolic power by which they create a language of public order and produce universal propositions that define,in interaction with other agents,a space of possible for public policies, whose instruments only exist if based on recognized definitions of public interest.The article concludes that state capacities depends on the distribution of power among agents for creating official legitimate definitions, articulating series of social representations and instruments of action socially authorized.