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Drawing on the concept of founding aporia developed by René Thom and analysing the fantastical solutions engendered by it, this article sets out to show that theory and management are inextricably linked due to two developments, that of an economic theory which incorporates a concern for ethics and that of an approach to public management which focuses on moral sentiments. The former provides a solid scientific foundation for the latter and the latter reinforces the former by demonstrating its applicability. Ethics, rather than being an obstacle or a danger, has become a factor which makes it possible for theory to encompass fundamental issues such as freedom and democracy. Public management has developed a new approach to performance. This has been possible by replacing the traditional approach of individual good with an approach in which good acts as a link between individuals, and furthermore, by revising public decision‑making, inventing a system of information very different from the traditional system based exclusively on variables derived from the business world. In this way, ethics and performance work together to form the basis of a new system of values.