A Positive Ethics for Public Administration. Altruism,Self-InterestandtheConceptof theState

Abstract

The paper begins by discussing the normative\nprinciples of the two main theoretical currents in public\nadministration in our days: NewPublicManagement and\nNeoWeberianism. Both orientations are very influential,\nnot only froma theoretical point of view, but also as blueprints\nfor administrative reforms. The paper focuses on\nthe differences between the two currents regarding normative\nprinciples: rational self-interest, in the case of\nNew Public Management, and civic duty or altruism, in\nthe case of NeoWeberianism. The paper discusses such\nnormative principles or normativemotivationswith some\nreferences to the history of political thought, particularly\nto Hegel�s criticism of Kant regarding the concept of the\nstate and its relationships to the market. In a final section,\nthe paper develops some proposals for institutional\ndesigns that could promote desinterested (altruistic)motivations\namong civil servants. The institutional designs\nmaterialize thus the idea of a positive ethics for public\nadministration.

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