David K. Hart

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood:” Public administration, the management orthodoxy, and civic humanism

Public administration is confronted with a dilemma: whether to follow the course of the management orthodoxy; or to follow the course of civic humanism. It is argued that the profession should follow the latter path. Democratic public administration must be informed by a civic idealism, centering on civic virtue, that insures that morality will be realized in action. Yet in recent years, public administration has become overly entranced with the orthodoxy of the management sciences. The professions ties with the management sciences have proven to be practically advantageous, but, overall, the association has been negative. Public administration has begun to lose its soul: its sense of civic idealism. The management orthodoxy adopts a more positivist stance, because virtue will not yield to the dominant methodology and is, hence, considered to be unreliable. A civic humanist approach to public administration requires a rather exalted notion of human potential, and a conception of political service as some...

Latin American debt, the IMF, and Adam Smith: A proposal for ethical reform

Abstract We examine the role of the IMF orthodox paradigm, and the value system upon which it rests, in the Latin American debt crisis. We conclude that the IMF orthodoxy is an inappropriate basis for international transactions because of the a priori utilitarian value assumptions on which it is based. Furthermore, those value premises have hardened into a narrow and inflexible ideology—similar in nature, if not in content, to Marxist ideology—which has been imposed on indebted Latin American countries. We recommend a value system based on the writings of Adam Smith to replace the value system inherent in the IMF orthodoxy. This value system stresses the inestimable value of all individuals, and we argue that governments and economic institutions must never diminish the happiness of innocent people. We conclude the article with some specific recommendations for reform at the IMF to bring its policies more in line with the moral ideals of Adam Smith.

Martial Virtue Civic Humanism as a Groundwork for American Military Ethics

The changing nature of modern warfare and consistent problems with ethical lapses have created significant problems in the administration of the U.S. military. The authors propose reengaging civic humanism in the form of martial virtue as the basis of a new military ethic. A more civically engaged military will be better equipped to manage the complexity and demands of modern warfare and, more important, do so in a more ethically prudent manner. Furthermore, martial virtue provides a bridge for the peculiar disjunction between military and public administration as well as a common normative ground from which to proceed. After providing a brief theoretical context, the authors propose six basic principles of martial virtue, followed by a more pragmatic discussion of the practical implications of such an ethic in the U.S. military.

Global economic competition, Adam Smith, and the no‐harm proviso

This paper asks the question, “What is the appropriate management value system for commerce in the increasingly complex global marketplace?” We argue that the current management orthodoxy is deficient in dealing with the challenges brought about by the growing number and increased cultural diversity of economic transactions in this new environment. As the justification for the current system is so frequently based on Adam Smith’s writing in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, we compare the current ideology of organizational life with that proposed in his The Theory of Moral Sentiments. In so doing, we argue that a form of international commerce based on Smith’s concept of “sympathy”, the innate need for each individual to care for others, is better suited to building the conditions necessary for human flourishing than is the existing value base. We propose an important initial step toward achieving a more sympathetic capitalism, the “No‐Harm Proviso”, and briefly speculate on its implementation.

Why the gore report will probably fail

The Gore Report on Reinventing Government summarizes the findings of the National Performance Review Board. It is a well-intentioned endeavor, containing many perceptive insights and solutions. Unfortunately, the NPR failed to consider a number of fundamental problems, which will probably cause the reform effort to fail. Foremost among the problems are the neglect of “the public interest,” reform by command rather than by persuasion, the trivialization of the “public” service, the devaluation of citizenship and the cynicism of frustrated expectations. This article discusses some of the implications of those problems. Because The Gore Report-- the popular name for the report of the National Performance Review Board (NPR) -- is, at the same time, both a proposal for managerial reform and a political document, and because our prognosis is so pessimistic, it is important for us to state our beliefs at the outset. First, both authors are social liberals, with a bent toward fiscal conservatism. Both support str...

A Primary Ethic for Organizational Behavior Research: Committed-to-“Work” Research

Above all other privileges vouchsafed us earthly pilgrims, I place the privilege of work [italics added]. The brightest, most lasting happiness I know is that which comes for my earning, striving, struggling, fashioning, this way and that, till a thing is done. Ay, down in my heart somewhere is an odd little litany which says I am near the source of all Good and all Power, because I, in my way, can do, shape, and create. —Carl Sandburg (1904) 1

“A partnership in virtue among all citizens”:(1) the public service and the civic humanist tradition

It is argued that the Founders’ intentions are most correctly interpreted through the virtue-centered paradigm of civic humanism, with its attendant “ethics of character.” Such an interpretation has major implications for the civic obligations of public servants. Among them are obligations to encourage civic autonomy; to govern by persuasion; to transcend the corruptions of power; and to become civic exemplars. Because these vital civic responsibilities have been neglected in recent years, it is argued that public administration should take the lead in promoting them as standards of good government. The future of fin de siecle America is not bright, as each day brings us closer to some geopolitical, economic, or environmental disaster that will pitch us into the garrison state. Because of the legacy of Ronald Reagan, a banal self-seeking and “moral thoughtlessness, “(2) we trail dispiritedly after leaders who have neither vision nor courage and who care only for the pomp, circumstance, and financial possi...

To love the republic: The patriotism of benevolence and its rhetorical obligation

Until the last century, most political philosophers considered patriotism to be a virtue, and an essential characteristic of the good state. From Cicero to Adam Smith, the active love of ones nation was also considered a duty, especially for public servants. They gave serious consideration to the necessary characteristics of a proper patriotism. But in modern times, serious questions have been raised about patriotism, because so many crimes have been committed in the name of ones nation. This has led scholars to distinguish between patriotism and its negative counterpart, nationalism. Our concern with the problem of nationalism has led us to neglect the positive benefits of patriotism. Using the United States as the example, this article argues that patriotism is a virtue, provided that it is the patriotism of benevolence: a patriotism based upon the love of others. Furthermore, it is also argued that patriots have a rhetorical obligation to persuade others to love the Republic. In an age where the affe...