Public Ethics

An examination of art and patronage in Britain during the post-war years. It consists of five case studies initially written as MA theses that closely investigate aspects of the mechanisms of patronage outside the state institutions while indicating structural links within it. The writers have sought to elucidate the relationship between patronage the production of art and its dissemination. Without seeking to provide an inclusive account of patronage or art production in the early post-war years their disparate and highly selective papers set up models for the structure of patronage under specific historical conditions. They assume an understanding that works of art are embedded in their social contexts are products of the conditions under which they were produced and that these contexts and conditions are complex fluid and imbricated in one another. Political realists are accustomed to argue that ethical considerations have no place in public affairs. This is always a debatable view: realism habitually employs a crude utilitarian morality rather than being totally amoral, and ethical considerations have continued to play an ever more prominent role in the thinking and actions of policy makers and politicians. In addition, citizens increasingly expect policies not only to be efficient and effective according to some purely economic or prudential calculation, but also to be equitable and just as well. As a consequence, both the public and private morality of politicians and public officials has come under ever greater scrutiny. The essays collected together in this volume explore the ethical issues raised by the process and substance of policy-making, and discuss whether it is reasonable to expect ethical standards in public affairs.