Ethics in Congress From Individual to Institutional Corruption

by Thompson, Dennis F.

• ISBN13: 9780815784234
• ISBN10: 0815784236
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-07-01
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

Dennis Thompson shows how Congress as an institution is posing new ethical challenges and how the complexity of the environment in which members work creates new occasions for corruption and invites more calls for accountability.

Author Biography

Dennis F. Thompson is the Alfred North Whitehead Professor of Political Philosophy and director of the Program in Ethics and the Professions at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Purposes of Legislative Ethics	p. 10
Personal Ethics and Legislative Ethics	p. 11
The Priority of Legislative Ethics	p. 16
The Scope of Legislative Ethics	p. 18
Principles of Legislative Ethics	p. 19
Legislative Ethics and Institutional Corruption	p. 24
Dynamics of Legislative Corruption	p. 26
The Elements of Corruption	p. 28
The Individual Corruption of David Durenberger	p. 34
The Institutional Corruption of the Keating Five	p. 37
The Diverse Corruptions of James C. Wright, Jr.	p. 43
Gains of Office	p. 49
The Legitimacy of Personal Gain	p. 49
General Offenses	p. 52
Conflicts of Interest	p. 55
Perquisites of Office	p. 60
The Imperatives of Political Gain	p. 65
Ambition and Independence	p. 69
Fairness to Colleagues, Challengers, and Congress	p. 72
Services of Office	p. 77
Undeserved Service	p. 78
Favoritism	p. 80
Institutional Consequences of Constituent Service	p. 84
Limitations of Legal Standards	p. 88
Limitations of Ethical Standards	p. 90
Toward Stronger Standards	p. 93
Corrupt Connections	p. 102
Corrupt Motives	p. 103
Mixed Motives	p. 108
Short-Circuiting the Democratic Process	p. 113
The Root of Some Evil	p. 115
The Importance of Appearances	p. 124
Tribunals of Legislative Ethics	p. 131
The Deficiencies of Self-Discipline	p. 132
Letting Voters Decide	p. 137
Letting Courts Decide	p. 143
Strengthening the Ethics Committees	p. 147
Conclusion	p. 166
Charges of Ethics Violations Considered by Congress, 1789-1992	p. 182
Notes	p. 191
Index	p. 239
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