The aim of this book is to examine the public and private roles of the citizen as
a moral agent. We define the moral agent as a person who, rather than merely
behaving in a manner consistent with morality, recognizes morality as a motive
for action. The moral agent not only follows moral principles but also acknowledges
morality as his or her principal.
In developing the notion of the moral agent, we accord a special significance
to public administration. We argue that public administration is a fundamentally
moral enterprise that exists to serve values that society considers significant
enough to support. It is dedicated to the provision of goods and services that
society recognizes as important enough to justify the expenditure of our collective
resources. It is committed to the creation and cultivation of the admittedly elusive
but nonetheless central concept of the public interest. Therefore, public administration
is, by definition, inherently moral, and public administrators are, again
by definition, moral agents
Middletown, Pennsylvania
Assistant to the Executive Editor
T. Aaron Wachhaus, Jr.