Ethics for Contemporary Bureaucrats：Navigating Constitutional Crossroads

As the US faces frequent government shutdowns and new policy debates surrounding immigration, climate change, budgeting practices, and the balance of power, a constitutional crisis is emerging. With competing interests, unclear policy, and inconsistent leadership directives from the highest levels of government, how do contemporary bureaucrats make sense of this ethically turbulent environment? This collection provides a lens for viewing administrative decision making and behavior from a constitutional perspective, as public servants attempt to navigate new and uncharted territory. Ethics for Contemporary Bureaucrats is organized around three constitutional values: freedom, property, and social equity.

These themes are based on emerging trends in public administration and balanced with traditional ethical models. Each chapter provides an overview of a contemporary ethical issue, identifies key actors, institutions, legal and legislative policy, and offers normative and practical recommendations to address the challenges the issue poses. Rooted in a respected and time-tested intellectual history, this volume speaks to bureaucrats in a modern era of governance.

It is ideally suited to educate students, scholars, and public servants on constitutional values and legal precedent as a basis for ethics in the public sector.