This article adds to the debate on ethical issues surrounding public administration practice by an analysis of integrating partialities into impartial moral reasoning under two formalized theories of social justice. Such ethical deliberation takes a closer than usual look at the moral complexity of public administration practices of partiality. The validity of adopting partiality as a possible principle to guide ethical decision making in public administration will be examined within the broader theories of social justice and how it conforms to social justice criteria. The article concludes by showing how new ethical ordering of partiality and impartiality, supplemented by Walzer’s spherical justice, provides a systematic method for considering partialities in public administration decision making.
Adams, G.B., & Balfour, D.L. ( 2009). Unmasking administrative evil. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.
2.
Anscombe, G.E.M. ( 1981). Modern moral philosophy. In Anscombe, Collected philosophical papers, III. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (Original work published 1958).
3.
Avineri, S., & de-Shalit, A. ( 1992). Communitarianism and individualism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
4.
Beabout, B., Carr-Chellman, A.A., Alkandari, K.A., Almeida, L.C., Gursoy, H.T., Ma, Z., . . . Pastore, R.S. ( 2008). The perceptions of New Orleans educators on the process of rebuilding the New Orleans school system after Katrina. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 13, 212-237.
Bok, D. ( 2003). Government personnel policy in comparative perspective . In J. D. Donahue & J. S. Nye, Jr. (Eds.), For the people: Can we fix public service? (pp. 255-272). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
7.
BondGraham, D. ( 2007). The New Orleans that race built: Racism, disaster, and urban spatial relationships. Souls, 9, 4-18.
8.
Brady, F.N. ( 2003). ‘Publics’ administration and the ethics of particularity. Public Administration Review, 63, 525-534.
9.
Brighouse, H., & Swift, A. ( 2009). Legitimate parental partiality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 37, 43-80.
10.
Chandler, R.C. ( 1994). Deontological dimensions of administrative ethics. In T. L. Coopers (Ed.), Handbook of administrative ethics (pp. 147-156). New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.
11.
Chubb, J.E., & Moe, T.M. ( 1988). Politics, markets, and the organization of schools. American Political Science Review, 82, 1065-1087.
12.
Cooper, C., & Block, R. ( 2006). Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the failure of homeland security. New York, NY: Henry Holt .
13.
Cooper, T.L. ( 2004). Big questions in administrative ethics: A need for focused, collaborative effort. Public Administration Review, 64, 395-407.
14.
Cottingham, J. ( 1986). Partiality, favouritism and morality. Philosophical Quarterly, 36, 357-373.
15.
Dominick, D. ( 2003). Neutral is not impartial: The confusing legacy of traditional peace operations thinking. Armed Forces & Society, 29, 415-448.
16.
Foot, P.R. ( 1954). When is a principle a moral principle?Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 28(Suppl.), 95-109.
17.
Frederickson, H.G. ( 1993). Ethics and Public Administration. New York: M.E. Sharpe.
18.
Garfalo, C., & Geuras, D. ( 1999). Ethics in public administration: The moral mind at work . Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
19.
Garfalo, C., & Geuras, D. ( 2005). Practical ethics in public administration. Vienne, VA: Management Concepts.
20.
Gilligan, C. ( 1982). In a different voice. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.
21.
Goodin, R.E. ( 1985). Protecting the vulnerable. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
22.
Goodin, R.E. ( 1988). What is so special about our fellow countrymen? Ethics, 98, 663-686.
23.
Guy, M.E. ( 1991). Using high reliability management to promote ethical decision making. In J. S. Boweman (Ed.), Ethical frontiers in public management (pp. 185-204). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
24.
Hsu, S. ( 2006, January 13). 2 million displaced by storms. The Washington Post, p. A03.
25.
Hill, P., & Hannaway, J. ( 2006). After Katrina: Rebuilding opportunity and equity into the new New Orleans. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
26.
Ink, D. ( 2006). An analysis of the House Select Committee and White House reports on Hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review , 66, 800-807.
27.
Irons, J.S. ( 2005, October 6). Rebuild? Or give money to residents? Yes. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/kf/katrina%20rebuild%20assistance.pdf
28.
Kant, I. ( 1785/1988). Fundamental principles of metaphysics of morals (T. K. Abbot, Trans.). Amherst, NY: Prometheus.
29.
Krause, S.R. ( 2008). Civil passions: Moral sentiment and democratic deliberation . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
30.
Lewis, C.W. ( 1991). The ethics challenge in public service. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
31.
MacIntyre, A. ( 1988). Whose justice? Which rationality?Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
32.
Mackenzie, G.C. ( 2002). Scandals proof: Do ethics laws make government ethical?Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press.
33.
Marini, F. (Ed.). (1971). Toward a new public administration: The Minnowbrook perspective. San Francisco, CA: Chandler.
34.
Menzel, D. ( 2006) The Katrina aftermath: A failure of federalism or leadership ? Public Administration Review, 66, 808-812.
35.
Miller, D. ( 1976). Social justice. New York: Clarendon Press.
36.
Miller, D. ( 1995). On nationality. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
37.
Moe, T.M. ( 1985). The politicized presidency. In J. E. Chubb & P. E. Peterson (Eds.), The new direction in American politics (pp. 235-271). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
38.
Mulhall, S., & Swift, A. ( 1996). Liberals and communitarians. Oxford , England: Blackwell.
39.
Nagel, T. ( 1991). Equality and partiality. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
40.
Nussbaum, M. ( 1990). The discernment of perception: An Aristotelian conception of private and public rationality. In Love’s knowledge: Essays on philosophy and literature by Martha Nussbaum (pp. 54-105). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
41.
Nye, J.S. ( 1967). Corruption and political development: A Cost-benefit analysis. American Political Science Review61, 417-427.
42.
Oldenquist, A. ( 1982). Loyalties. Journal of Philosophy, 79, 173-193.
43.
O’Leary, R. ( 2006). The ethics of dissent. Managing guerrilla government . Washington, DC: CQ Press.
44.
Pops, G.M. ( 1994). A teleological approach to administrative ethics. In T. L. Coopers (Ed.), Handbook of administrative ethics (pp. 157-168). New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.
45.
Pugh, D.L. ( 1991). The origins of ethical frameworks in public administration . In J. S. Bowman (Ed.), Ethical frontiers in public management (pp. 9-33). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
46.
Quill, L. ( 2009). Ethical conduct and public service: Loyalty intelligently bestowed. American Review of Public Administration, 39, 215-224.
47.
Rawls, J. ( 1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.
48.
Rawls, J. ( 1972). A theory of justice (British Edition). Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
49.
Rawls, J. ( 1973). A theory of justice (Paperback Edition). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
50.
Rawls, J. ( 1985). Justice as fairness: Political not metaphysical. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 14, 223-251.
51.
Rawls, J. ( 1993). Political liberalism. New York, NY : Columbia University Press.
52.
Ritea, S. ( 2006a). Public schools’ makeup similar. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/education
53.
Ritea, S. ( 2006b). Skeleton crew left to gut N.O. system. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/education
54.
Ritea, S. ( 2007). School district pledges to end wait lists. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/education
55.
Rosenstein, C. ( 2007). New Orleans arts and culture. In C. DeVita (Ed.), After Katrina: Shared challenges for rebuilding communities (pp. 13-16). Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/311440_After_Katrina.pdf
56.
Ruscher, J.B. ( 2006). Stranded by Katrina: Past and present. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 6, 33-38.
57.
Scheffler, S. ( 1982). The rejection of consequentialism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
58.
Scheffler, S. ( 2001). Boundaries and allegiances. Oxford , England: Oxford University Press.
59.
Simon, D. ( 2007). New school era opens today. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/education
60.
Stivers, C. ( 1994). The listening bureaucrat: Responsiveness in public administration . Public Administration Review, 54, 364-368.
61.
Stivers, C. ( 2007). So poor and so black: Hurricane Katrina, public administration, and the issue of race. Public Administration Review, 61(s1), 48-56.
62.
Stivers, C. ( 2008). Governance in dark times: Practical philosophy for public service. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
63.
Svara, J. ( 2007). The ethics primer for public administrators in government and nonprofit organizations. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
64.
Tamir, Y. ( 1993). Liberal nationalism. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press.
65.
Thomas, A. ( 2005). Reasonable partiality and the agent’s point of view. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 8, 25-43.
66.
Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. ( 1995). Tinkering towards utopia: A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
67.
van der Veen, R.J. ( 1999). The adjudicating citizen: On equal membership in Walzer’s theory of justice. British Journal of Political Science, 29, 225-258.
68.
Walzer, M. ( 1983). Spheres of justice. New York, NY: Basic Books.
69.
Walzer, M. ( 1987), Interpretation and social criticism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
70.
Walzer, M. ( 1988). Socializing the welfare state. Dissent , Summer, 292-300.
71.
Walzer, M. ( 1994). Thick and Thin: Moral Argument at Home and Abroad. Indianapolis, IN: Notre Dame Press.
72.
Walzer, M. ( 1995). Response. In D. Miller & M. Walzer (Eds.), Pluralism, justice, and equality (pp. 281-298). New York, NY : Oxford University Press.
73.
Walzer, M. ( 1999). Seminar with Michael Walzer. Ethical Perspectives, 6, 220-242.
74.
Warner, C. ( 2005). Demographer says many residents want to return. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nola.com
75.
Webster’s third international dictionary of the English language. (1961). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster .
76.
Williams, B.A.O. ( 1974). Persons, character, and morality. In A. O. Rorty (Ed.), Identities of person (pp. 197-217). Berkeley: University of California Press.
77.
Woller, G.M., & Patterson, K.D. (1997). Public administration ethics: A postmodern perspective. American Behavioral Scientist, 41, 103-118.
