Political ethics

Political ethics (also known as political morality or public ethics) is the practice of making moral judgments about political action and political agents.^[1] It covers two areas: the ethics of process (or the ethics of office), which covers public officials and their methods,^[2]^[3] and the ethics of policy (or ethics and public policy), which concerns judgments surrounding policies and laws.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The core values and expectations of political morality have historically derived from the principles of justice. However, John Rawls defends the theory that the political concept of justice is ultimately based on the common good of the individual rather than on the values one is expected to follow.^[7]

While trying to make moral judgments about political issues, people tend to leverage their own perceived definition of morality. The concept of morality itself derives from several moral foundations. Morality, seen through the lens of these foundations, shapes peoples' judgments about political actions and political agents.

^ Thompson, Dennis F. (2013-02-01), "Political Ethics", International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, doi:10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee633, ISBN 978-1-4051-8641-4, S2CID 243708205, retrieved 2021-07-06
^ Stuart Hampshire (1978). Public and private morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22084-X. OCLC 3728767.
^ Thompson, Dennis F. (1987). Political ethics and public office. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-68605-5. OCLC 14818873.
^ Amy Gutmann; Dennis F. Thompson, eds. (2006). Ethics and politics: cases and comments (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-62645-9. OCLC 60588998.
^ Bluhm, William Theodore; Robert A. Heineman (2007). Ethics and public policy : method and cases. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-189343-6. OCLC 70060951.
^ Wolff, Jonathan (2011). Ethics and public policy: a philosophical inquiry. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66852-1. OCLC 694393623.
^ Leung, Cheuk-Hang (2016-12-05). "Cultivating Political Morality for Deliberative Citizens — Rawls and Callan Revisited". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 48 (14): 1426–1441. doi:10.1080/00131857.2016.1138393. ISSN 0013-1857. S2CID 147716573.

[1] Thompson, Dennis F. (2013-02-01), "Political Ethics", International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, doi:10.1002/9781444367072.wbiee633, ISBN 978-1-4051-8641-4, S2CID 243708205, retrieved 2021-07-06

[2] Stuart Hampshire (1978). Public and private morality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22084-X. OCLC 3728767.

[3] Thompson, Dennis F. (1987). Political ethics and public office. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-68605-5. OCLC 14818873.

[4] Amy Gutmann; Dennis F. Thompson, eds. (2006). Ethics and politics: cases and comments (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-62645-9. OCLC 60588998.

[5] Bluhm, William Theodore; Robert A. Heineman (2007). Ethics and public policy : method and cases. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-189343-6. OCLC 70060951.

[6] Wolff, Jonathan (2011). Ethics and public policy: a philosophical inquiry. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66852-1. OCLC 694393623.

[7] Leung, Cheuk-Hang (2016-12-05). "Cultivating Political Morality for Deliberative Citizens — Rawls and Callan Revisited". Educational Philosophy and Theory. 48 (14): 1426–1441. doi:10.1080/00131857.2016.1138393. ISSN 0013-1857. S2CID 147716573.

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