Public Integrity / Edition 1

by J. Patrick Dobel

Overview

In this groundbreaking book, J. Patrick Dobel describes and analyzes the elements that constitute integrity in public office. Drawing on case studies, memoirs, interviews, and fiction (e.g., John Le Carré), Dobel addresses such issues as when to resign and when to stay in office. He examines the temptations of power, the relation between private and public life, and the role of honor and prudence in making personal decisions. He applies not only moral theory but also the insights of history, organizational theory, and psychology. Unlike most political ethics books, Public Integrity puts personal responsibility at the center of public morality, examining not just the responsibilities of office but also the role of personal moral commitments and promises. This timely book reminds us of the importance of public integrity as well as the demands and challenges that often threaten that integrity, especially in a liberal democracy such as the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801869167
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.67(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

J. Patrick Dobel is a professor of public affairs, adjunct professor of political science, and associate dean in the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. He is the author of Compromise and Political Action: Political Morality in Liberal and Democratic Life.

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	Acknowledgments	xvii
1.	Integrity in Office	1
2.	The Temptations of Power	23
3.	The Moral Realities of Public Life	48
4.	Character and Moral Attrition	68
5.	Staying In: The Ethics of Commitment in Office	93
6.	Getting Out: The Ethics of Resigning from Office	109
7.	The Political Morality of Sleaze and Honor	130
8.	Building the Common amid Differences	147
9.	Saints, Sinners, and Politicians: How Private Lives Matter	170
10.	Political Prudence	193
	Epilogue	212
	Notes	223
	Index	253

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Just when Americans in great numbers have given up on expecting integrity and prudence from public officials along comes Pat Dobel. He writes for anyone holding any public office but the book is even more important for non-office holding citizens. Never preachy, but always demanding, Dobel's accessible erudition persuades the reader of both the difficulty and the nobility of holding public responsibility. Public Integrity will attract some of America's finest into public life. It's that good.
—John E. Brandl, Dean, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

John E. Brandl

Just when Americans in great numbers have given up on expecting integrity and prudence from public officials along comes Pat Dobel. He writes for anyone holding any public office but the book is even more important for non-office holding citizens. Never preachy, but always demanding, Dobel's accessible erudition persuades the reader of both the difficulty and the nobility of holding public responsibility. Public Integrity will attract some of America's finest into public life. It's that good. (John E. Brandl, Dean, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

Editorial Reviews

In Dobel's book the outlines of public integrity come into view. We see the extent to which integrity remains compatible with inconsistencies over personal history and social geography, the ways in which it can abide both pluralism and pragmatism.
—Andrew Stark, American Political Science Review

At a time when confidence in public office holders is low, Dobel shows that there still is virtue in public life. His research clearly indicates that office holders can be individuals of character and integrity if they put aside their focus on self-interests and ground their decision-making powers in the obligations of office, personal capacity and commitments, and prudence and effectiveness.
—Daniel Baracskay, Journal of Politics

From the Publisher

At a time when confidence in public office holders is low, Dobel shows that there still is virtue in public life. His research clearly indicates that office holders can be individuals of character and integrity if they put aside their focus on self-interests and ground their decision-making powers in the obligations of office, personal capacity and commitments, and prudence and effectiveness.

Journal of Politics - Daniel Baracskay

In Dobel's book the outlines of public integrity come into view. We see the extent to which integrity remains compatible with inconsistencies over personal history and social geography, the ways in which it can abide both pluralism and pragmatism.

American Political Science Review - Andrew Stark

At a time when confidence in public office holders is low, Dobel shows that there still is virtue in public life. His research clearly indicates that office holders can be individuals of character and integrity if they put aside their focus on self-interests and ground their decision-making powers in the obligations of office, personal capacity and commitments, and prudence and effectiveness.

— Daniel Baracskay

Journal of Politics

In Dobel's book the outlines of public integrity come into view. We see the extent to which integrity remains compatible with inconsistencies over personal history and social geography, the ways in which it can abide both pluralism and pragmatism.

— Andrew Stark

American Political Science Review

In Dobel's book the outlines of public integrity come into view. We see the extent to which integrity remains compatible with inconsistencies over personal history and social geography, the ways in which it can abide both pluralism and pragmatism.
— American Political Science Review

Andrew Stark

At a time when confidence in public office holders is low, Dobel shows that there still is virtue in public life. His research clearly indicates that office holders can be individuals of character and integrity if they put aside their focus on self-interests and ground their decision-making powers in the obligations of office, personal capacity and commitments, and prudence and effectiveness.
— Journal of Politics

Daniel Baracskay

Moving beyond theory (although drawing on it as well), Dobel (public affairs, U. of Washington) explores the responsibilities and pressures faced by public officials in their day to day activities by using case studies, memoirs, and interviews. He presents dilemmas such as when officials choose to resign and why, the temptations of power, the relationship between public and private life, and the role of personal conscience in making public decisions, to conclude that personal responsibility should be at the center of public morality. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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