Morals often sacrificed for the good of the country

A new study published in the latest issue of Public Administration Review looks at the moral dilemmas and implications that arise when statesmen abandon their principles for the good of the state. Author Stephanie Newbold explains that elected officials often enter public office with an ideology or perspective for how the government should be managed and what it is and is not responsible for. But governing a nation is quite different from the way individuals govern themselves or what they believe the government should be. With the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson turned on his values, but made the best decision for the economic, political, and national security interests of the American people.