Ethical action in public administration needs to be informed by more than human intuitions. To make correct intuitive judgments about right and wrong, decision makers can be guided by moral philosophy. The works of three philosophers, R. M. Hare, John Rawls, and A lasdair Macintyre, are considered in this regard; the strengths and weaknesses of each, as applied to public administration, are assessed. Implications for scholarship and teaching in administrative ethics are considered.
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