What is a public server?

We explain what a public servant is and what his relationship with governments is. In addition, public servants par excellence.

1. What is a public server?

A public servant is that person who is responsible for carrying out a task in order to generate well-being among society . With this we do not affirm that his work is ad honorem, but that regardless of the salary received, his main characteristic is that his task is not destined to private activity but to the service of society .

Public servants are working at the service of the State , generally in public administration . As we see, officials are a variant of public servants but not every public servant is an official. For example, a firefighter is a public servant, since his work implies a great contribution to the welfare of society.

One of the features that should stand out most of a public servant is its ethics , since the consequences of its actions usually reach a larger group of society. To this is added the social prestige they have, since in many cases they usually manage state economic funds (therefore they are the result of the contribution of all citizens ), in addition to the fact that they usually represent institutions with a long tradition .

The regulation of public servants is a state matter, generally contained within the constitution of each country, accompanied by other smaller laws .

2. Your relationship with governments

The size and quality of public services is not something that is defined in advance, but will depend on the size of the state apparatus and the funds available

 . Countries that defend the policies of a welfare state, typical of European countries during the 70s, and retaken by some Latin American countries, tend to have a large number of services and public servants, since a good part of the services Social is monopolized by the State.

The public education and public hospitals , for example, are bastions of the welfare state. With this we are not claiming that a doctor from a private clinic is not a public servant, but there are differences. For example, between a private security service and the state police. While both can be considered public servants, the level of responsibility

 that a police cash has is much higher.

One of the problems that neoliberal governments have is the reduction of funds for public servants , mainly the administrative and bureaucratic sector. This “reduction of the State”, understood as a necessary process to eliminate unnecessary expenses, entails the relegation of public functions to private sectors. This is one of the strong criticisms of the most defense sectors of the welfare state, arguing that it is only a way to favor the richest sectors of society.

3. Public servants par excellence: politicians

The policy has historically been regarded as one of the main ways to serve society. In fact, it is the end in itself of politics. This finds its maximum point of expression in democracies and not in other political systems, since during the monarchical and totalitarian governments the rulers had no explicit responsibility with those they represented, but vice versa.

Every person dedicated to politics must have the goal of developing his task to achieve a common good , beyond prestige and his personal ambitions. The need for impeccable behavior and rigorous ethics is usually demanded from the political class, since they are the representatives of the popular wills. However, we all know that this rarely happens.

Different professionals from the most diverse areas have addressed the issue of politicians as public servants, such as Machiavelli or Max Weber. While the first of these authors have insisted on the need for the complexity of the concept of political vocation , Max Weber specialized in the influence of Western rationalization in politics. These are just two examples of a large number of intellectuals who have addressed this problem.