ABSTRACT

The modern age with its emphasis on technical rationality has enabled a new and dangerous form of evil--administrative evil. Unmasking Administrative Evil discusses the overlooked relationship between evil and public affairs, as well as other fields and professions in public life. The authors argue that the tendency toward administrative evil, as manifested in acts of dehumanization and genocide, is deeply woven into the identity of public affairs. The common characteristic of administrative evil is that ordinary people within their normal professional and administrative roles can engage in acts of evil without being aware that they are doing anything wrong. Under conditions of moral inversion, people may even view their evil activity as good. In the face of what is now a clear and present danger in the United States, this book seeks to lay the groundwork for a more ethical and democratic public life; one that recognizes its potential for evil, and thereby creates greater possibilities for avoiding the hidden pathways that lead to state-sponsored dehumanization and destruction. What's new in the Fourth Edition of Unmasking Administrative Evil:

  • UAE is updated and revised with new scholarship on administrative ethics, evil, and contemporary politics.
  • The authors include new cases on the dangers of market-based governance, contracting out, and deregulation.
  • There is an enhanced focus on the potential for administrative evil in the private sector.
  • The authors have written a new Afterword on administrative approaches to the aftermath of evil, with the potential for expiation, healing, and reparations.

chapter 3|18 pages

Administrative Evil Unmasked

The Holocaust and Public Service

chapter 4|23 pages

Administrative Evil Masked

From Mittelbau-Dora and Peenemünde to the Marshall Space Flight Center

chapter 5|24 pages

Organizational Dynamics and Administrative Evil

The Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA, and the Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia

chapter 6|23 pages

Public Policy and Administrative Evil

chapter 7|23 pages

Administrative Evil in the Twenty-First Century

Abu Ghraib, Moral Inversion, and Torture Policy

chapter |10 pages

Afterword

Expiating Evil and Administrative Evil