Ethical Justifi cations of the Public Participation Principle
Journal Title: International Journal of Contemporary Management - Year 2010, Vol 9, Issue 2
Abstract
This article discusses some ethical arguments in favour of public participation. It analyses logical structures of the arguments, their assumptions, practical consequences in management and logical limits. The article assumes that public participation is a fact and the principle of action. The fact of public participation consists in the voluntary participation of community members in managing its affairs. The principle of public participation requires the willingness to respect the will of members of a society in decisions concerning the community to which they belong. The article investigates ethical justifi cations of public participation understood as a principle of action. The analysis of the article shows that public participation is ethically justified when it has its basis in law (a legalistic argument), it is wanted by members of a society (a consensual argument), it is useful for the community – it minimises the risk of harmful social conflicts and abuses of power (a rule-utilitarian argument), it is consistent with human nature (an anthropological argument), it is a prerequisite for fair management of social issues (an axiological argument) and it is necessary for respecting human dignity (a personalistic argument). The article indicates some logical limits of the above arguments. As it shows beyond these limits the arguments can be abused in misinterpretation or manipulation, for example when one overlooks some relevant circumstances of participation or commits logical errors in reasoning. The use of the arguments discussed here requires a large number of logical assumptions and identification of a specific situation, which is usually very complex. Therefore, the above arguments require, in addition to extensive knowledge and skills of effective thinking, cognitive sensitivity to the specific circumstances that Aristotle called prudence, and especially – intellectual honesty, which he called „right reason” („orthos logos”).
Authors and Affiliations
Jan Jacko
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP57863
- DOI -
- Views 135
- Downloads 0
Communication in Local Emergency Management Networks (part 1)
Background. Emergency management requires flexibility and adaptation to dynamic and changing circumstances. The urgent requirements and high standards of responsiveness in terms of emergency management depend on horizont...
Constructing a business cycle model for seasonal products
The short life-cycle products require an original method to be produced and sold. It was developed following theoretical studies complemented by long-term empirical research on manufacturing companies. In the first stage...
Flexible Employment and Personnel Risk
The article presents personnel risk in the context of flexible forms of employment. There are two types of personnel risk, that is, employer risk and employee risk. Both risks depend on the use of an employment form. It...
Paradigms of Leadership – Research on Thinking of Head teachers of Public Schools in Poland
[b]Background.[/b] The leadership concept seems to be one of the most promising for attempting to understand and develop the nature of management in the public sector and especially in the sphere of educational organizat...
Modern management in the social enterprise
Modern management aimed at achieving the priorities of a social enterprise requires the specific choice of a management model. An accurate selection of an appropriate management model influences its effectiveness and has...