Common ground, common future: moral agency in public administration, professions, and citizenship

The inherently moral nature of public administration, argue the authors (of Texas State U.), makes the public administrator as a moral agent a moral exemplar for other professions. They examine a unified ethic that is implied by this view of public administration and consider its application to other professions, including business, medicine, highe

Common Ground, Common Future: Moral Agency in Public Administration, Professions, and Citizenship examines the public and private roles of the citizen as a moral agent. The authors define this agent as a person who recognizes morality as a motive for action, and not only follows moral principles but also acknowledges morality as his or her principal. The book explains that public administration is a fundamentally moral enterprise that exists to serve the values that society considers significant, and that this moral nature makes public administration a prototype for other professions to emulate, a model of moral governance in American society.The title reflects the book's principal purpose and abiding hope: the development of a broad perspective on our individual and collective roles and responsibilities as citizens, professionals, and moral beings, with a recognition of mutual obligations to the large and small challenges inherent in the process of governance.