Introduction

Abstract

Integrity is the thing to have, for politicians and public servants, for managers and employees in the business sector, for all of us in our personal lives. We all hope to be able to act and decide with integrity, and we hope others will recognize and acknowledge our doing so.

Parts of this book have been published before or will be published in journals, anthologies, and other such publications, some coauthored, some in Dutch; the most important are listed in the references. The origins of this work will also be clarified in a number of notes, and tribute will be paid to the many colleagues who, during research projects, writing collaborations, discussions, and so on, shaped the views it presents. Please realize, however, that the attempts to acknowledge this in the text must unfortunately and inevitably be limited and insufficient, not least for easier readability.