Public service as a calling: an exploration of a concept. part II

Abstract

In a continuing exploration of the concept of a calling and its relevance to public service, this analysis traces its metamorphosis and interpretations resulting from the Protestant Reformation. This era is responsible for sacralizing the calling by sanctifying the daily activities of the people. For now all vocations are able to fulfill one's calling. Thus, Martin Luther's challenge of the reigning religious rituals and beliefs transforms the calling from an elitist, sacred concept to a populist belief system as he applies the calling to the mundane world of work. In this transformation all are eligible for salvation through hard work, which becomes the prescribed means for self-actualization. Here “every honest layman is called by God to his particular activity in society from making shoes to ruling the state.” The new Protestant religion releases man from seeking salvation through the intercession of the church. Now he must utilize his own efforts. For he who works diligently is ultimately bound to achieve his election and success. But Luther also promotes the rigidity of class for he admonishes all to “remain in the task assigned by God.” More critically, he moves the ideology of vocation and calling from the monastery into the marketplace. Luther also believes that those in higher stations must serve others to benefit all of society. The feudal belief in “noblesse oblige,” once limited to the nobility, becomes the obligation of those engaged in commerce, the professions and the trades. This duty to serve others is best demonstrated in the American colonies by our founding fathers. Along with religious believers of other faiths, Protestant man is charged with fulfilling God's will on earth. But how is he to discharge this obligation? John Calvin provides the answer through his espousal of the doctrines of predestination, calling, and grace. Man's vocation and station is preordained by God. His election is certified by leading an upright and useful life, by professing his faith, by participating in two of the sacraments, and by unremitting toil. This discipline is acceptable to the believer, for he is now doing God's work, no matter what his occupation. These are the religious-social doctrines that sustain the Puritans. To support this rigorous behavioral code one must have some sign of election, of being among the chosen. And that sign is success. This does not mean that man works for worldly goods. For both Luther and Calvin note that he works for God's grace. Worldly goods are merely a by-product of man's earnest endeavors in fulfilling his covenant with God. Calvin further acknowledges that the magistrate or public servant is engaged in a “holy calling.” He is God's vice-regent, for he is the guardian of the laws. According to Max Weber, Protestant man's calling, fulfilled by hard work, is responsible for the creation of capitalist societies where material wealth becomes the primary goal. This drive for wealth, best satisfied through unending toil, results in man's torment or “inner-loneliness.” In Weber's paradigm, in order to sustain a measure of self-esteem, one must work even harder to accumulate even more wealth, for surely this is God's sign of one's election. Thus, the credo of Calvinism “supplies the moral compulsion and energy of the capitalist entrepreneur.” Weber's thesis is not sustained by an examination of history. Modern capitalism and wealth accumulation are not elements of the basic spirit of the Protestant ethic, for these are merely correlated with, and not the cause of it. Furthermore, Weber's portrait of Puritan man and his “inner-loneliness” is hard to justify, given that individual's “busy bee” predilections and lifestyle. Weber notwithstanding, Protestantism removes the once sacred calling from the cloister into the secular community, where now all can find grace through labor. Should that lead to wealth, so be it. Significantly, for those working in public service today, this activity is put forth as a noble endeavor. Indeed, the magistrate is engaged in a “holy calling.” However, among the critical problems and questions for contemporary public administration is the disparity between the negative perceptions of the public servant and its historic identification as a divine mission. Given the values of an instrumentally driven society and the structure of our bureaucracies, what should we expect of our public service officials by way of high achievement and performance? And what can, or should, be done to transform public service into a true calling or perhaps a profession? Finally, is the concept of public service as a calling an oxymoron?