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How Views on Government Can Affect Views on Local Government Ethics
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Robert Wechsler
Reading Garry Wills' A
Necessary
Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government (1999)
made
me think about how anti- and pro-government feelings jive with views on
government ethics.
People who believe that government is a good way to deal with community-wide matters usually believe that the public servants who represent and work for the community cannot legitimately deal with these matters unless they are committed to the public interest rather than to their personal interests.
People who believe that government is a necessary evil, and should be minimal at most, are generally more distrustful of government than pro-government people, and also more concerned with government officials sticking their hands into our pockets. Therefore, they should be even more strongly supportive of efforts to ensure that public servants do not use government power and tax dollars to enrich themselves, their families, and their business associates.
But generally, those who distrust government are less supportive of government ethics than pro-government people. A principal reason, I think, is that their tendency to distrust government minimizes the importance of trying to increase trust in those who govern. Why bother? Keeping government small is their priority.
Those who think more strategically might not want any laws that might make people trust government more. A more trusted government will more easily grow.
Those who are more specifically anti-government, such as large businesses that want less government regulation but support other government roles, generally favor local government ethics, because they want to work with government officials they can trust to be fair. Local businesses, however, are not as supportive of local government ethics, unless there is a serious scandal that harms the community's reputation. This is because local businesses are usually the recipients of favors from a local government that is being run to further its officials' interests.
By the way, Wills' book is an excellent look at anti-government theory and action throughout American history. Especially exciting for me was the way Wills digs into the myths behind the theory, most notably with respect to the treatment of our founding fathers' ideas. Others will prefer the book's history of rebellions, uprisings, and vigilantes. There is no chapter, however, on ethics commission vigilantism, which if you go by what many elected officials say, would make the Ku Klux Klan look like boy scouts.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
People who believe that government is a good way to deal with community-wide matters usually believe that the public servants who represent and work for the community cannot legitimately deal with these matters unless they are committed to the public interest rather than to their personal interests.
People who believe that government is a necessary evil, and should be minimal at most, are generally more distrustful of government than pro-government people, and also more concerned with government officials sticking their hands into our pockets. Therefore, they should be even more strongly supportive of efforts to ensure that public servants do not use government power and tax dollars to enrich themselves, their families, and their business associates.
But generally, those who distrust government are less supportive of government ethics than pro-government people. A principal reason, I think, is that their tendency to distrust government minimizes the importance of trying to increase trust in those who govern. Why bother? Keeping government small is their priority.
Those who think more strategically might not want any laws that might make people trust government more. A more trusted government will more easily grow.
Those who are more specifically anti-government, such as large businesses that want less government regulation but support other government roles, generally favor local government ethics, because they want to work with government officials they can trust to be fair. Local businesses, however, are not as supportive of local government ethics, unless there is a serious scandal that harms the community's reputation. This is because local businesses are usually the recipients of favors from a local government that is being run to further its officials' interests.
By the way, Wills' book is an excellent look at anti-government theory and action throughout American history. Especially exciting for me was the way Wills digs into the myths behind the theory, most notably with respect to the treatment of our founding fathers' ideas. Others will prefer the book's history of rebellions, uprisings, and vigilantes. There is no chapter, however, on ethics commission vigilantism, which if you go by what many elected officials say, would make the Ku Klux Klan look like boy scouts.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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Comments
Visitor (not verified) says:
Sat, 2009-10-03 07:48
Permalink
Hi. I stumbled upon your website today. It is great to see people interested in ethical theories relating to government. May I recommend another book for you to read. It is called 'Universally Preferable Behaviour - A Rational Proof of Secular Ethics.' I found it to be a fascinating read, especially when it comes to the ethics of government.
Here is a link to the book:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1270751
Thank you for the work you do here.