What is Government Ethics?

Government ethics applies to the processes, behavior, and policy of governments and the public officials who serve in elected or appointed positions. The role of government and its officials is to serve the public interest with ethical awareness and ethical actions. When governments serve the public interest and avoid engaging in behavior that promotes any private interests, they are acting for the common good.

On taking office, every public servant, elected or appointed, enters into a covenant with the people: that as a public official they will seek to promote the public interest in all political processes and ensure that policy adoption and service provision occur without favoritism or discrimination. Moreover, a public official must not use her or his position for personal gain and should avoid even the appearance of having a conflict of interest.  An ethical awareness of the obligation to act in the public interest will normally promote fairness and justice, and advance the common good.

One may view government ethics as part of the broader field of political ethics that Dennis F. Thompson (International Encyclopedia of Ethics, June 29, 2019) explains as covering “…the ethics of process, which focuses on public officials, the methods they use, and the institutions in which they act; and the ethics of policy, which concentrates on judgments about the policies and laws governments make.” Political ethics also extends to political processes of a democracy that includes the ethics of elections, campaigns, and voting. Just as governments and their officials must act with ethical awareness, so too do those who run for political offices, engage in political campaigning, and vote in elections. There are ethical practices for candidates, campaigners, and voters that are critical to advance the public interest.