Practical insights for compliance and ethics professionals and commentary on the intersection of compliance and culture.

Kamala Harris and false choices in ethical decision-making

Kamala Harris is the junior United States Senator from California and was previously the Attorney General of California and the District Attorney of San Francisco. Throughout her career as a prosecutor and now legislator, Harris has been well-known for her advocacy of restorative justice initiatives and her progressive engagement with a wide variety of social issues.

In speeches and interviews, Harris frequently rejects simple interpretations of her record and urges people to consider more nuanced views on political and cultural topics rather than seeing various interests or goals as mutually exclusive or conflicting when they actually could be aligned. On this subject, Harris often refers to advice she received from her mother: “Reject false choices.”

In terms of ethical decision-making, what does Harris mean when she talks about false choices? What can individuals seeking to make considered, values-based choices or work through ethical dilemmas gain from contemplating this concept?

Explore this philosophy about decision-making and judgment in this selection of articles where Harris refers to false choices:

For more posts similar to this one, check out this post on ethical dilemmas, this post on the principles of decision-making, or this post on a values-based approach to making hard choices.

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