Within the field of political philosophy, the role of states, governments, and institutions has dominated research. This has led to a dearth of literature that examines what individuals—e.g., voters, lobbyists, and politicians—ought (or ought not) to do. Ethics in Politics: The Rights and Obligations of Individual Political Agents meets this need, providing a timely discussion of normative questions concerning political agents and the systems in which they act. The book contains eighteen original chapters by leading scholars which cover a range of topics including irrational voting, bribery, partisanship, and political lying. Ethics in Politics is a unique and accessible resource for students, researchers, and all interested readers, and sheds light on important but underexplored issues in ethics and political philosophy.

Are public officials morally justified in threatening violence, engaging in deception, or forcing citizens to act for their own good? Can individual officials be held morally accountable for the wrongs that governments commit? Dennis Thompson addresses these questions by developing a conception of political ethics that respects the demands of both morality and politics. He criticizes conventional conceptions for failing to appreciate the difference democracy makes, and for ascribing responsibility only to isolated leaders or to impersonal organizations. His book seeks to recapture the sense that men and women, acting for us and together with us in a democratic process, make the moral choices that govern our public life. Thompson surveys ethical conflicts of public officials over a range of political issues, including nuclear deterrence, foreign intervention, undercover investigation, bureaucratic negligence, campaign finance, the privacy of officials, health care, welfare paternalism, drug and safety regulation, and social experimentation. He views these conflicts from the perspectives of many different kinds of public officials - elected and appointed executives at several levels of government, administrators, judges, legislators, governmental advisers, and even doctors, lawyers, social workers, and journalists whose professional roles often thrust them into public life. In clarifying the ethical problems faced by officials, Thompson combines theoretical analysis with practical prescription, and begins to define a field of inquiry for which many have said there is a need but to which few have yet contributed. Philosophers, political scientists, policy analysts, sociologists, lawyers, and other professionals interested in ethics in government will gain insight from this book.

Learn to recognize and assess the strengths and weaknesses of moral arguments in the making of public policy with ETHICS AND POLITICS: CASES AND COMMENTS. You'll find coverage of the ethics of process: the morally questionable means--violence, deception, and corruption--that are most commonly used by public officials, as well as the ethics of policy: the valuable but often competing ends that public officials strive to achieve. Conflicting values, scarce resources, and stakes as high as life and death combine with the duties of public office to make choices among policy goals controversial and morally difficult. Each ethical issue is paired with case studies in contemporary American politics. For example, the controversy over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay; or issues during the campaign and election of 2004.

A collection of articles that illuminate the debate over ethics in politics and government; discussing the morality of the use of covert procedures in securing national interests; considering ethics in the executive and legislative branches; and examining the dilemmas of ethical leadership.

Excerpt from The Government of Man: An Introduction to Ethics and Politics The following pages have been written to give an introductory account of the conditions under which practical ideals have been formed, and of the forces which have produced the most prominent theories. The study of ethical theories is too often conducted with no immediate reference to the historical setting of each theory; even political science is often divorced from the events which gave vitality to the theories; and every experienced teacher knows the practical difficulty of supplying a background for the continuous development of theories. These pages are an attempt to meet that difficulty. The political and ethical theories are outlined; the immediate circumstances are indicated; and the outstanding features of the transitions from period to period are briefly noted. In selecting the material, particular attention has been paid to the subjects most akin to ethical and political problems; social life, religious movements, and the relation of the different classes in the different communities are the most relevant topics. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work provides a mindset for leadership to deal with the problem of unethical transgressions in South African communities and buisness. It provides a thorough and comprehensive diagnosis of leadership and morality, from an analysis of causes, to the compilation of remedies.

The relationship between science and ethics has been subject to much debate. This volume demonstrates the mutually beneficial relationship that can take place between ethics and science. It presents work that utilises the tools of science - broadly conceptualised - to elucidate ethical issues, showing that careful scientific analysis of ethical issues can reveal new insights. This is supplemented by conversations with the authors - some of them pre-eminent scientists addressing issues of ethics, including two Nobel laureates - to learn how they came to the study of ethics and ask how they conceptualise and think about ethical issues. Science, Ethics and Politics provides substantive insight into particular ethical issues, ranging from issues of torture during war to parents' obligations to children. This book is designed as a complement to traditional texts on ethics and should appeal to students of ethics as well as to the general public.

In this book Russell gives a logical analysis of ethical concepts and principles. He goes on to relate his ethical conclusions to politics and religion. It is his only extended statement of his later views on ethics.

..". remarkable account of the impact of postmodern philosophy on the question of ethics and politics... commendable also for its balanced view of Heidegger's relationship to politics and ethics.... an excellent account of Heidegger's philosophical understanding of technology..." -- Choice This book takes as its point of departure the question of ethics: that values and their pursuit in the West often perpetuate their own worst enemies. At issue are the dangers in the structures and movements of images, values, and ways of knowing that are most intimately a part of our lives.