ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the ethical obligations of the public administrator are to be derived from the obligations of citizenship in a democratic political community. A citizen is one who qualifies for the status of citizenship as prescribed formally, or informally, by a particular community, and is encumbered with the obligations assigned to this role by that community. David H. Rosenbloom cautions against adopting the traditional goals of professionalized public administration in the United States for similar reasons. Rosenbloom identifies the tradition of professionalism in the 19th and 20th centuries with values which were derived from Woodrow Wilson's famous essay, the scientific management school, and the movement for scientific principles of public administration. A search for a redefined professionalism in public administration necessarily requires an exploration of what it means to be a citizen/administrator. Technical expertise, competence in specialized fields, and the ability to employ the best available scientific methods are unquestionably also essential for modern public administration.
