Government ethics is naturally focused on the selfish aspects of
people's conduct, the aspects that make them provide special benefits to themselves, those
who help them, and those to whom they feel special obligations. But as Jonathan Haidt argues in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

<br>Jonathan Haidt in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

<b>Moral Disgust</b><br>
In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

There is a serious controversy going on right now in Jacksonville
regarding the transparency of text messages by local
government officials concerning government business. This is an issue
where most governments have failed to keep up with technology. That's
common, of course. But from a government ethics point of view, what
is most important is how the issue is approached.<br>
<br>
Florida, which is known for its good sunshine laws, dealt with the issue

You may not have realized it, but if you are reading this, you are
most likely WEIRD, that is, a member of a culture that is Western,
educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic. The features of WEIRDness
can be summed up in the following sentence from Jonathan Haidt's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

According to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mayor-gray-this-is-not-…; target="”_blank”">an
article in yesterday's Washington <i>Post</i></a>, new allegations have
been made of a "shadow campaign" by which the District of Columbia's
largest contractor (in contract dollars) supported the current mayor's 2010 campaign to

One section of Haidt's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

<b>The Ethics of Gut Reactions</b><br>
According to Jonathan Haidt's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

<br>
In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The

<br>
Jonathan Haidt's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Mind-Divided-Politics-Religion/dp/03073…; target="”_blank”"><i>The
Righteous Mind</a></i>: <i>Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and
Religion</i> (Pantheon, 2012) is a book that does not, from its
title, appear to have much value for government ethics. But Haidt's