Many people, including some commenters on my most recent post, don't see why we should ever fire government officials because of their political and ideological views. Even if an official is a racist, homophobe, communist, etc., perhaps they should not be fired for this unless and until there is proof that their objectionable views affect their job performance. In some cases, this may well be the right approach - particularly if there is little opportunity for the official to implement his biased views or if the job is an important one and it is hard to find an equally competent replacement.

However, there is good reason to fire officials for their views in at least some situations. In some cases, the "wait and see" approach is simply too dangerous. For example, if a key CIA operative is revealed to be an adherent of Al Qaeda's ideology, it is theoretically possible that he will carry out his duties effectively despite his views (e.g. - perhaps he cares more about career advancement than about advancing his views). But given the grave risks involved, it would be foolish to wait and see. Even where matters of life and death are not involved, the costs of ignoring an official's views might still be high. For example, if we do not fire a racist official in a position to discriminate against African-Americans, he might take actions that expose the government to expensive liability suits and possibly poison the state's relationship with the black community. Even if he is later fired after the fact, the damage he has done might difficult or impossible to repair.

Along these lines, it is interesting that there is far less controversy about hiring officials based on ideological views than about firing. For example, nearly everyone takes it for granted that a Republican administration will appoint mostly conservative officials, while a Democratic one will appointly most liberals. The administration could engage in ideologically neutral hiring and later fire those officials whose views lead them to take actions contrary to the administration's agenda. But few would argue that that is the right approach to hiring in government. If this is true as to hiring, why not firing as well?

Not all officials with deeply objectionable views should be fired. Whether or not do so depends on the likelihood that they can cause serious harm, the difficulty of finding a competent replacement, and other similar considerations. But such firings should not be categorically rejected.

Since I am a professor at a state university, it is inevitable that some readers would like to know the implications of this argument for the hiring of academics at state institutions. In my view, ideologically neutral hiring is far more desirable in academia than in most other types of government employment because one of the functions of academics is to engage in wideranging debate and research, a function that would be undermined by ideological hiring criteria. On the other hand, the job of most other appointed officials is to implement laws enacted by the legislature or carry out the policy agenda of their elected superiors. Thus, for most government jobs, there are likely to be greater benefits and less harm from ideologically based hiring and firing than in the case of professors. Is that a self-interested distinction? Quite possibly. But I still think it's valid!