Ethics and Politics: Cases and Comments

By Amy Gutmann

Book Overview

The third edition of this casebook helps students recognize and assess the strengths and weaknesses of moral arguments in the making of public policy. Part one considers the ethics of process: the morally questionable means--violence, deception, and corruption--that are most commonly used by public officials. Part two discusses the ehics of policy: the valuable but often competing ends that public officials strive to achieve. Conflicting values, scarce resources, and stakes as high as life and death combine with the duties of public office to make choices among policy goals controversial and morally difficult. In both parts, each ethical issue is paired with case studies in contemporary American politics. For example, the decision to defend organ transplants in Arizona introduces competing theories of justice; decisions by the FDA to ban AIDS-testing at home and by the New York legislature to ban dwarf-tossing as entertainment in bars illuminate the issues of liberty, paternalism, and moralism.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830414770
• ISBN13: 9780830414772
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"Ethics and Politics": An Eye-Opening Study

When one hears the phrase "political morality", one is inclined to throw it off as an oxymoron. This set of case studies, compiled and commented on by Professors Amy Gutmann (of the esteemed Princeton University) and Dennis Thompson (of a small liberal arts college in Boston), shows us that the term is incredibly relevant to us today, not just as possible politicians (most of us aren't), but as informed citizens in a democratic society. This collection is separated into two parts: one which deals with the difficult decisions made in times of crisis, and the second with the hard choices inherent in public policy. The first part outlines case studies on issues such as dropping the bomb on Hiroshima and lying in office. The studies and commentaries force us to consider if and when it is right to ignore conventional morality for a possibly greater end. The second deals with currently-raging controversies such as abortion and the death penalty. This part encourages us to consider cases in which two competing ends are at stake. Overall, this collection is an engaging and thorough investigation into a large number of past and current controversies that encourages us to consider the issues from all sides.