A Princeton philosophy professor on the ethical argument for working for the Trump administration
Say you’re an attorney with a practice in trade law. You disagree with Donald Trump’s positions, but you’ve kept your opinions to yourself. Then the Trump transition team calls to offer you a job. Would you do more good staying away, or by trying to make a positive difference working for Trump?
What’s the ethical thing to do?
We posed that dilemma to Peter Singer, a Princeton University philosophy professor described by Time as one of the world’s most influential thinkers.
Take the job, Singer said in a phone interview today.
“My view is that you ought to accept the position, you ought to go into it with an open mind, you ought to go in thinking you’ll be able to make a difference,” he said. ” And if you get to the point where you think there’s nothing you can do, you should be prepared to leave.”
If you do leave, and go public with your reasons, you’ll have more credibility, and you might have more influence as a critic of Trump than if you never joined the administration, Singer says.
While our scenario is hypothetical, it’s a decision some Americans may face in the coming weeks. New presidents traditionally have hired the best and brightest talent available from their parties to fill the approximately 4,000 executive branch positions that open with a change of government. But Trump’s fringe positions and alienating behavior spurred a #nevertrump movement of Republicans opposed to his presidency, and at least some may be approached with jobs.
Princeton philosophy professor Peter Singer on the ethical argument for working for the Trump administration — Quartz
Say you’re an attorney with a practice in trade law. You disagree with Donald Trump’s positions, but you’ve kept your opinions to yourself. Then the Trump transition team calls to offer you a job. Would you do more good staying away, or by trying to make a positive difference working for Trump?
What’s the ethical thing to do?
We posed that dilemma to Peter Singer, a Princeton University philosophy professor described by Time as one of the world’s most influential thinkers.
Take the job, Singer said in a phone interview today.
“My view is that you ought to accept the position, you ought to go into it with an open mind, you ought to go in thinking you’ll be able to make a difference,” he said. ” And if you get to the point where you think there’s nothing you can do, you should be prepared to leave.”
If you do leave, and go public with your reasons, you’ll have more credibility, and you might have more influence as a critic of Trump than if you never joined the administration, Singer says.
While our scenario is hypothetical, it’s a decision some Americans may face in the coming weeks. New presidents traditionally have hired the best and brightest talent available from their parties to fill the approximately 4,000 executive branch positions that open with a change of government. But Trump’s fringe positions and alienating behavior spurred a #nevertrump movement of Republicans opposed to his presidency, and at least some may be approached with jobs.
Princeton philosophy professor Peter Singer on the ethical argument for working for the Trump administration — Quartz
