ABSTRACT
The beginning of the new millennium provides an opportunity to take stock of current experience, reflect on the past, and consider the nature of future problems, challenges and opportunities. Ethics in public service is about the practical application of moral standards in government. All ethical behaviour is concerned with how an individual feels he or she ought to behave. It is about values, and the application of those values in any given context. In liberal democracies it is the political environment which determines the scope and objectives of the public services; it is the political environment which determines the values to be applied when delivering these services; and it is the political environment which affects the ways public servants work and is the most important factor in the differences between the public administration and management or administration in other contexts.
