The role of government is multifaceted; its purview includes
maintaining public safety, funding and directing education, regulating commerce
and protecting the nation from foreign aggression (Almond, Powell, Dalton, & Strom,
2010). Various agencies are charged
with writing and enforcing government policies, providing the means for achieving
established objectives; bureaucracies are intermediaries between the government
and the people, performing such functions as distributing information and
benefits, and enforcing laws and regulations
(Almond et al., 2010). These
functions are relatively general, but their performance and outcomes reflect
the priorities and paradigms of the state and citizenry; hence, communist
bureaucrats will enforce party priorities, while those operating within a
democracy are expected to reflect the principles of democratic governance. This paper will examine the relationship
between democratic governance and bureaucratic ethics, to determine whether
democratic principles provide an ethical foundation for public agencies, and
whether this ideal is carried through in bureaucratic functioning.
Bureaucratic
ethics
Ethics have been defined as ideals
that guide moral decisions, are based upon religious or societal norms, and
generally include such fundamental premises as justice, respect for the rights
of others, veracity, and awareness of the consequences of one’s actions upon
others (Cooper, 2006). Bureaucrats, as public servants, must conform
to ethical guidelines established by the agencies they work for; their behavior
must reflect understanding of the democratic underpinnings of their roles as
unelected officials and government representatives (Rohr, 1989). Inasmuch as bureaucrats are given
considerable discretionary power and are not subject to “popular control” (p.4),
they have a significant responsibility to adhere to democratic principles as
they perform their duties (Rohr,
1989). Bureaucratic ethics in a
democracy, then, entail using established and personal ethical guidelines, to
provide government services based upon respect for civil rights under the
constitution.
Theory
versus reality
The ideal that democratic ideals
serve as the template for bureaucratic ethics, while assumed true, is not
necessarily carried through in life. In
education, violations of this principle occur regularly; a recent case is a
good case in point. The Arizona
Superintendent of Schools of late ordered all ethnic studies courses in the
state cancelled, after the state
legislature, at his urging, passed an act making them illegal (Medrano, 2010). These courses have been a popular offering
and have demonstrably helped minority students in raising overall achievement
scores. Districts have asked for a
reversal of the ruling but have been advised that they will be penalized should
they continue to offer the courses (Medrano,
2010). This unilateral decision violates
the democratic principle of self-determination, inasmuch as the districts, students,
and families petitioned the state to keep the courses. The Superintendent’s
role as a bureaucrat is to support student efforts for academic success, and
create a learning environment within the state that supports student autonomy,
critical thinking, and self-direction. Instead, Arizona has become a forum for
one person’s views, imposed upon the majority.
Conclusion
Bureaucrats
function as unelected officials whose role it is to provide a government with
practical means for achieving its goals and objectives. In a democracy,
bureaucrats must understand and uphold the democratic principles of the system,
and incorporate these into their code of ethics. Included in such are upholding
the Bill of Rights and ensuring that all actions taken meet Constitutional
standards. While this is an ideal, it is
frequently violated, demonstrating that bureaucrats either do not understand
their role as extensions of the government and of a democratic system, or are
indifferent to its ethical standards and willing to infringe upon the rights of
the people they serve until held accountable.
References
Almond, G. A., Powell, Jr., G.
B., Dalton, R. J., & Strom, K. (2010). Comparative
Politics Today: A World View (9th ed.). New York, NY: Longman.
Cooper, T. L. (2006). The Responsible Administrator: An Approach
to Ethics for the Administrative Role (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA.
Jossey-Bass.
Medrano, L. (2010, December
31). Ethnic studies classes illegal in Arizona public schools as of Jan. 1. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved
from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2010/1231/Ethnic-studies-classes-illegal-in-Arizona-public-schools-as-of-Jan.-1
Rohr, J. A. (1989). Ethics for Bureaucrats: An Essay on Law and
values (2nd ed.) [Google Books]. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rEJsMUMoR1cC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=bureaucratic+ethics+democratic+OR+governance&ots=h2WLL0rqUK&sig=9xld7wQ-cWZQWOeGDJQ4cJ1-Ikg#v=onepage&q=bureaucratic%20ethics%20democratic%20OR%20governance&f=false
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