Citizens of the 21th century and their expextations towards good and right in a democratic world
Citizens of the 21th century and their expextations towards good and right in a democratic world

Summary/Abstract: The ethical debate is a very opportune debate in our times, when a new system of values is challenging our world. The traditionally standards of a democratic process for a democratic world are now facing new cultures and new values. Three centuries ago, the democratic system was designed for specific cultures with specific habits. I am referring to the people of the United States of America and their protestant ethics of working and living. That system was developed in the Western Europe, in countries with protestant traditions, also. The concepts of good and right were meaning rationality, efficiency and, of course, hard working and faith. So, ethical governance should be an effective one. After 1990 and beginning with the 21st century the democratic process was implemented in countries with no democratic and no protestant tradition. The process of implementation was difficult and the results can be easily seen. But the people of Eastern Europe and the people of Middle East have different views concerning the concepts of good and right. Those concepts do no more mean rationality and efficiency, because people from Eastern Europe and from Middle East do not have the same ethics of living and working. The real challenge is to redefine the key concepts of living. Times have changed and the values have changed, too. So, public administration’s task is to find the new meanings of good and right and appropriate them, in order to serve public interests and to fulfill citizen’s expectations. If we want to live in a world where democratic principles are applied with no discrimination and if we want to have better and ethical administrations, we should understand people’s expectations towards good and right, properly. If we are talking about minorities, about fundamental rights and about no discrimination, we should redesign the governance’s effective shape in such a way as to be ethical.

• Details
• Contents