Question.
Evaluate the relevance of "Conscience" in the context of civil service. ( UPPSC, UP PCS Mains General Studies-4/Ethics 2018).
Answer.
Conscience is the inner voice or inner sense of right and wrong that guides personal behavior. In the context of civil servants, the conscience helps civil servants to take decisions in line with their personal values and the ethical principles of the organization they serve.
Civil servants are often faced with ethical dilemmas in their work, such as conflict of interest, pressure to engage in corrupt activities, Public vs individual interest, rule vs traditions, Majority vs minority, and Corruption vs integrity. Conscience helps civil servants to take decisions based on their moral values and conscience.
However, conscience should not be used for justification to act on personal beliefs or biases that are not consistent with the principles of their organization or law, or ethical governance. It means to say that public servants cannot justify any of their work by saying that this is the voice of their conscience. For example, the public servant cannot beat any public and say that the voice of my conscience was telling him to beat him.
In conclusion, we can say, the conscience is very helpful in civil services to solve the ethical dilemmas faced by civil servants in daily decision-making. However, public servants must ensure that conscience should be based on the ethical standards of society and their actions should be in the best interest of the overall society.
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