Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewImmediately upon publication, this becomes the text of choice for courses on the ethics of public officials… The major theme for which the book will be widely noticed and long remembered [is the] aim ‘to preserve the essentials of the traditional idea of personal responsibility against the pressures of organizational life.’ * Political Theory *
The discussions throughout are careful and measured, conversant with a wide literature, and full of useful distinctions that allow many stalemates and logjams in the public understanding of political ethics to be bypassed or broken through… Even if readers are unconvinced by Thompson’s particular views, they will find in the essays indispensable tools for mounting alternative conclusions. * American Political Science Review *
This is an important book, not only for its groundbreaking contribution to the study of political ethics, but also more broadly, for its contributions to democratic theory. It should be of use to a wide range of political scientists as well as members of other academic disciplines. -- Gary L. Jones * Perspective *
Thompson’s book…sensitively and carefully probe[s] the implications of incorporating notions of ‘personal responsibility’ in our assessment of moral political life. * Michigan Law Review *
Table of ContentsIntroduction Problems of the Ethics of Office Methods of the Ethics of Office 1. Democratic Dirty Hands The Persistence of the Problem The Limits of Democratic Distance The Assumption of Accountability Reviewing the Decision Generalizing the Decision Mediating the Decision The End of Dirty Decisions Democratic Deterrence 2. The Moral Responsibility of Many Hands Hierarchical Responsibility Collective Responsibility Personal Responsibility Alternative Causes Causing and Advising Good Intentions The Ignorance of Officials The Compulsion of Offices 3. Official Crime and Punishment The Problem of Moral Responsibility The Problem of Political Responsibility Limits of Criminal Responsibility 4. Legislative Ethics Minimalist Ethics Functionalist Ethics Rationalist Ethics The Particulars of Generality The Autonomous Legislator The Pecuniary Connection The Necessity of Publicity 5. The Private Lives of Public Officials The Value of Privacy The Scope of Privacy: Substantive Criteria The Scope of Privacy: Procedural Criteria 6. Paternalistic Power The Concept of Paternalism The Justification of Paternalism The Paternalism of the Professions Compulsory Medical Treatment The Law of Involuntary Guardianship The Distribution of Public Welfare The Regulation of Drugs The Regulation of Safety 7. The Ethics of Social Experiments The Story of the Denver Income Maintenance Experiment (DIME) The Ethics of the DIME Evaluations and Implications of the DIME Notes Credits Index
