This is a follow-up to yesterday's blog post on ethics fines. This
week, I've been reading Karen
Pryor's bible on positive training,
Don't Shoot the Dog: The New Art of
Teaching and Training (Bantam, 1999).
I'm reading the book to get ideas for training the puppy I will soon be
getting. Positive training is a more humane and, supposedly, more
effective approach than traditional obedience training.
Reading the book, and especially the chapter on ways of getting rid of
behavior you don't want, made me think that more consideration should
be given to the traditional ways used to prevent officials from dealing
irresponsibly with
their conflicts of interest.
The important first step is to consider what is the goal of government
ethics. Do we really just want to get rid
of misbehavior, or do we want officials to learn how to behave properly?