Lisa Tessman, When Doing the Right Thing Is Impossible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017). 170 pp. $21.95 (hardcover), ISBN: 9780190657581

• Author: John R. McCaskill
• Date: 01 November 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13001
• Published date: 01 November 2018

Book Reviews 929

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 78, Iss. 6, pp. 929–931. © 2018 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13001.

Reviewed by: John R. McCaskill

The University of Texas at Dallas

Lisa Tessman, When Doing the Right Thing Is Impossible

(New York: Oxford University Press, 2017). 170pp. $21.95

(hardcover), ISBN: 9780190657581

Most discussions of ethics in the public sphere

revolve around two basic questions: “What

is the right thing to do?” and conversely,

“What is the wrong thing to do?” The question that

frequently goes unasked is, “What if doing the right

thing is impossible?” At first glance, this question

seems a bit over-the-top—when does a circumstance

like that ever occur? Are we all not in possession

of a moral compass that allows us to intuitively

know the difference between right and wrong? The

answers are not straightforward. We each have daily

experiences that challenge our moral sensibilities,

even if we do not recognize them as such. Take the

example of two friends asking you to separate events

on the same date and time. You obviously cannot be

in two places at once so there should be no moral

conflict. But if that is the case, why do you feel a

twinge of guilt for disappointing one of the friends?

Taken even further, how does a city manager choose

between recommending economic redevelopment

and longtime family businesses that will be displaced

by the redevelopment? Does the manager have any

remorse regarding the decision?

All of these issues have one thing in common: an

emotional response to a rational decision. The choice

architecture becomes even more challenging when the

decision bases involve “sacred” topics such as human

life. How do you even consider the monetary cost of

saving a life? The posing of these types of questions,

and the discussion that follows, is why When Doing

the Right Thing Is Impossible should have broad appeal.

The text is written in a pleasant, conversational tone

that is clear and engaging. The questions posed and

the supporting discussions revolve around issues that

are particularly relevant to public administration,

namely, how do we know what the right thing to

do is. When engaged in public service, there are

often choices that must be made that have no right

answer. Outcomes must often be selected based upon

the lesser of two evils. Attempting to navigate these

types of issues can take an emotional toll. While

this book does not provide prescriptive methods for

decision making, it does provide useful insights for

practitioners and scholars alike that can be used when

considering moral alternatives.

The main ideas of the book are moral-ethical in

nature. The book begins with moral dilemmas

individuals have faced and explores them from several

moral perspectives. The overarching question, “Does

ought imply can?” is raised in these scenarios and

evaluated through various moral approaches. This

question is fundamental to the evaluation of the more

pressing question of “What is the right thing to do?”

These questions are explored in the context of human

decision making and explore some of the troubling

human cognitive shortcuts that can lead to immoral

outcomes when attempting to make more judgments.

The author sets up several scenarios in which there

are no happy endings. These range from the rather

mundane choice of whether to help a stranger in

immediate need or keep a promise to a group you

care deeply about, to the horrible position in which

physicians were placed during Hurricane Katrina

in the Memorial Medical Center debacle in which

decisions had to be made regarding euthanizing

patients without their consent (killing them), or

allowing them to suffer horribly painful deaths, alone.

While this is an extreme example, Tessman provides

many other instances where we must choose to

disappoint one group or another and then examines

the guilt associated with such decisions. She also deftly

discusses examples of how certain choices become

morally unthinkable, but yet leaves the decision-

maker trapped in a no-win situation.

Tessman’s choice of sources is superb in building

her arguments. She also does an excellent job of

documenting them in such a way that the reader is

empowered to continue further exploration of the

subjects she touches on. This careful construction

allows the reader to follow the arguments easily while

maintaining the ability to arrive at an alternative

position through further reading. The odds of that

John R. McCaskill is a clinical professor

of public and nonprofit management at the

University of Texas at Dallas. His research

interests include organizational dynamics

in conditions of resource scarcity in public

organizations and nonprofits. He has

recently published the book

Agent-Based

Modeling in Humanitarian Interventions:

Emerging Research and Opportunities

.

E-mail: john.mccaskill@utdallas.edu