Democratic Morality

Democratic morality rests on three key issues, each must be examined in light of the impact of large administrative organizations with substantial influence over the development of public policy.

First, democratic morality assumes that the person, the

individual, is the basic measure of human value. It is in

the realization of the fullest potential of the individual

that we come to judge our political and social system.

It holds that institutions, policies, and the behavior of men

are to be judged by one principle: man is the ultimate

value of all human values.

This is the individualistic value of democratic morality. It is referred to by Redford as the ideal of individual realization (Redford, 1969, p.6). The second ideal is that all people have worth deserving social recognition.

Democratic morality acknowledges that all persons

have full claim to the attention of the system. In democratic

morality, neither the superior endowment, nor the earned

or accidental advantage, nor the vested position of some can

justify inattention to other men's needs.

This means that differences in wealth or position are not valid reasons for giving undue advantage to one group or another. All persons are created equal. Redford refers to this as the equalitarian component of democratic morality (Redford, 1969, p.6). The third ideal is that personal worth is most fully protected and enlarged by the actions of those whose worth is assumed.

Individual claims can best be promoted through the

involvement of all persons in the decision-making process,

and participation is not only an instrumental value, helpful

in attaining other ends, but is essential to the development

of democratic citizenship...

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...e world of administration depends much less on majority votes than on the inclusiveness of the representation of interests in the interaction process among decision makers” (Redford, 1969, p. 44). As Redford says, the rise of the administrative state has changed the way we look at the issue of democratic morality. The administrative state, and indeed, organizations, both public and private will always be illegitimate unless they embrace the values of the worth of the individual, equality for all people, universal participation. It is with these three democratic values that we must analyze the responsiveness of public organizations and all attempts to ensure responsiveness.

Works Cited

Denhardt, Robert. (2007). Theories of public organization. Wadsworth Pub Co.

Redford, Emmette S. (1969). Democracy in the Administrative State. New York: Oxford University Press.