How Views on Government Can Affect Views on Local Government Ethics
Reading Garry Wills' <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Evil-American-Distrust-Government/dp/06…; target="”_blank”">A
Necessary
Evil</a>: A History of American Distrust of Government</i> (1999)
made
me think about how anti- and pro-government feelings jive with views on
government ethics.<br>
<br>
People who believe that government is a good way to deal with
community-wide matters usually believe that the public servants who
represent and work for the community cannot legitimately deal with
these matters unless they are committed to the public interest rather
than to their personal interests.<br>
<br>
People who believe that government is a necessary evil, and should be
minimal at most, are generally more distrustful of government than
pro-government people, and also more concerned with government officials
sticking their hands into our pockets. Therefore, they should be even
more strongly
supportive of efforts to ensure that public servants do not use
government power and tax dollars to enrich themselves, their
families, and their business associates.<br>
<br>
But generally, those who distrust government are less supportive of
government
ethics than pro-government people. A principal reason, I think, is that
their tendency to
distrust government minimizes the importance of trying to increase
trust in those who govern. Why bother? Keeping government small is
their priority.<br>
<br>
Those who think more
strategically might not want any laws that might make people trust
government more. A more trusted government will more easily grow.<br>
<br>
Those who are more specifically anti-government, such as large
businesses that want less government regulation but support other
government roles, generally favor
local government ethics, because they want to work with government
officials they can trust to be fair. Local businesses, however, are not as
supportive of local government ethics, unless there is a serious
scandal that harms the community's reputation. This is because local
businesses are usually the recipients of favors from a local government
that is being run to further its officials' interests.<br>
<br>
By the way, Wills' book is an excellent look at anti-government theory
and action throughout American history. Especially exciting for me was the way
Wills digs into the myths behind the theory, most notably with respect
to the treatment of our founding fathers' ideas. Others will prefer the book's history of rebellions, uprisings, and vigilantes. There is no chapter, however, on ethics commission vigilantism, which if you go by what many elected officials say, would make the Ku Klux Klan look like boy scouts.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
---</p>