Abstract
Against the background of the state conceptions of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Hegel, this article traces the trade cycles of organic and mechanistic notions of the state and discusses connections between them and the current approaches of New Public Management and Public Value. It is argued that a mechanical conception of statehood lies at the heart of New Public Management, whereas we can identify key elements of an organic understanding of the state in the Public Value approach. Considering the historical and cultural relativity of state conceptions, the history of ideas contributes to evaluating different legitimacy criteria of public administration and furthers our understanding for normative aims of public governance.