ABSTRACT
This chapter explores definitions of ethics and related approaches, such as natural rights, virtue, the common good, and justice. It analyses the natural law perspective and its application to the modern American administrative state. Galloping Elephants is a framework of effective public organization concerned with why government agencies perform well, when they do. The Golden Rule has long been deemed a benchmark for interpersonal – and, by extension, political – relations. By adding a universal element to the statement, the Golden Rule finds application not merely in adversarial relationships, but in every interaction. In addition to the standard and inverse renditions of the Golden Rule, tangential interpretations contort the meaning further. Although the preemptive justification could be interpreted as aggressive – such as a preemptive military strike in modern warfare – it also has a preparedness angle. One forerunner of natural law, Plato – explained his ideas in formulaic terms.
