000 01499pab a2200169 454500
008 180718b2006 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100 _aHellsten, Sirku
245 _aPublic good or private good? The paradox of public and private ethics in the context of developing countries
260 _c2006
300 _ap.135-45.
362 _aMay
520 _aThis article questions the view that corruption is part of the features of collectivist cultures. Whilst acknowledging that there are cultural differences in ethical and social norms, it argues that corruption is more likely due to social and economic realities and the disconnection between societal values and the values of formal public institutions. Also the failing of public trust leads into communitarian solidarity-networks within a state, which strive for the common good of particular social collectives rather than the national public good. In designing strategies to improve ethics and control corruption in the public sector we need to understand the social and economic conditions under which public duty and the ethical standards required from them tend to compete with the private moral commitments and social obligations of officials. The article suggests using civic education to diffuse the values of public service, and the rights and obligations of citizenship more widely in society. - Reproduced.
650 _aEthics
700 _aLarbi, George A.
773 _aPublic Administration and Development
909 _a70559
999 _c70559
_d70559