Between the common good and personal benefit: ethical dilemmas faced by public servants

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the significance of vocational commitment in public service, in contrast to the prevailing social narrative that exalts entrepreneurship as the ideal path to personal fulfillment. Drawing from a subjective perspective grounded in first-hand experience as a Criminal Investigator, the argument is made that public servants require not only technical competencies but also a robust ethical framework rooted in responsibility, integrity, and a genuine commitment to the common good. Central to the discussion are the risks posed to public service by attempts to reconcile official duties with private business interests, as well as the necessity for public servants to establish clear professional priorities. The article concludes that vocation is not an abstract ideal, but rather a practical condition for exercising public functions with legitimacy and purpose, even amid the erosion of public trust in institutions.