Chapter 3
Serve Citizens, Not Customers
Serve citizens, not customers. The public interest is the result of a
dialogue about shared values rather than the aggregation of individual
self-interests. Therefore, public servants do not merely respond to the
demands of “customers,” but rather focus on building relationships of trust
and collaboration with and among citizens.
The New Public Service begins, of course, with the concept of public service.
But the idea of public service is intertwined with the responsibilities
of democratic citizenship. In the words of Benjamin Barber, “Service to
the nation is . . . the duty of free men and women whose freedom is wholly
dependent on and can survive only through the assumption of political
responsibilities. In this tradition service is something we owe ourselves or
that part of ourselves that is embedded in the civic community” (Barber
1998, 195). Public service derives, therefore, from the civic virtues of duty
and responsibility.
Respect for the idea of public service has varied over time. In some
periods, the commitment of citizens to public service has been far stronger
than in others. Similarly, the relationship between the public servant and the
public has been characterized in different ways over time. In this chapter,
we will first review several important aspects of democratic citizenship,
then consider these varying views of public service in relation to citizenship.
We will then examine the particular interpretation of public service in
the Old Public Administration, the New Public Management, and the New
Public Service.