Care, Justice, and Public Administration

Abstract

This article examines the implications of recent debate regarding the nature of moral development and moral maturily for public sector ethics. The research of Carol Gilligan and others has suggested that the conventional account of moral maturity (an "ethic of justice") overlooks an alternative "ethic of care," allegedly found only among women. Although these differing models of moral maturity are not as conceptually or empirically distinct as they initially appeared, treating the care and justice perspectives as ideal types demonstrates that neither provides a defensible account of moral maturity. The authors explain how an exclusive reliance on either impartial rationality or care and concern for particular others poses serious problems for administrators and that the administrative role demands capacities for ethical judgment and action associated with both the care and justice perspectives.

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