Abstract Critical theory has been marginal in public administration, though it offers critique of public institutions and possibilities for a better future. Among several reasons for this, it may be that critical thought has failed to influence public administration theory because its normative vision of social change challenges the status quo and threatens the economic and political equilibrium. The sections below summarize characteristics of critical social theory, note ways it has been used in public administration, and contrast critical theory with postmodern pragmatism to illustrate the difference between critical social theory and well-known contemporary thought. It is argued that critical theory may be even more valuable today than it was in the past, as one-dimensional society and postmodernism close off description of societal conditions and use of imagination to create a better future.