Whistleblowing And Politics: When The Two Should Go Together And Why
Generally, when you think of government agents and elected officials, you do not place these people in the same sentence with whistleblowing. While it seems stereotypically out of place for a politician to expose bad business practices or work place injustices, it is exactly what any other ethical person (who is not serving in office) would do. Politicians are supposed to lead by example, which begs the question of when politics and whistleblowing should go together and why this action should take place.
When Politics and Whistleblowing Typically Occur
A whistleblowing politician is one who decides that the ethical thing to do is to expose some issues within the office that he or she serves. The politician may also have exposed other wrongdoings in business prior to becoming a politician, which may have been the move that catapulted him/her into the spotlight and readied a path into politics. Either way, the politician reveals to the public things he/she thinks the public should be aware of, at the cost of the politician's own popularity with the public and/or those he/she works with.
When Politics and Whistleblowing Should Occur
Truth be told (pun intended), more politicians should be practicing good ethics, both in their political lives as well as in their business lives (when they operate a business on the side). That means keeping politics and business separate, and keeping their duties to their office by upholding high moral standards. In short, whistleblowing in politics should be occurring more often, exposing scandals and bad representation and bad business practices often. The political system would best be kept in check and fewer legal issues would arise if politicians were held to the same standards and ethical practices as everyone else. (It is this very notion that is at the heart of Katharine Hamilton's ethics, if you need a current example.)
Why Whistleblowing and Politics Should Go Together
Deficits in government spending, lobbying, special interest groups and scandals are all the result of unchecked government representatives and an unchecked system acting in their own interests. If more politicians blew the whistle on what they see and hear, avoided lobbyists and special interest groups that provide temptations, and avoided scandals in office, then the majority of these problems would dissipate and/or decrease in frequency. The public would be able to trust their elected officials more, knowing that wealthy politicians were serving the interests of the people, rather than their own interests.