库柏对公民品德的研究及其启示

Cooper's Study of Civic Virtue and Its Implications

当代美国公共行政学者特里·L·库柏在发展公共行政的民主伦理时 ,通过历史追溯而将公民品德概念置于更为广阔的带有社群主义倾向的民主社会和契约性政体之中 ,并总结出公民品德的总则 ,即“正确理解的自我利益”。库柏的研究表明 ,公民品德是个有着特定的社会和历史情境的概念 ,它是对民主社会伦理道德性质和要求的一种提炼和集中表达 ;广泛的公共精神和公民品德不可能仅仅是一种道德境界的倡导 ,也不是对自我利益的简单超越和否定 ,而是一种在恰当的机制之下达成的公共和个人的“双赢”。

In developing a democratic ethic for public administration, Terry L. Cooper appeals to the American tradition of ethical citizenship. By locating the concept of civic virtue in a broader context of a regime with characteristics of social contract, Cooper summarizes the principle of civic virtue as the principle of “self interest rightly understood'. Cooper's studies show that civic virtue is a distinct concept, which is both attached to a particular kind of society and embodies the nature of moral requirements in that society. His studies also show that public spiritedness and civic virtue do not come about simply because of moral campaigns or a denial of self interest. It rather manifests the win win reciprocity between self interest and common good, which is possible only when an appropriate kind of social mechanism is available.