Someone in another thread brought up ‘good governance’ and asked what it was, he seemed to criticise me for saying that I’d want to make the world a better place to live in, but to me the aim of any good governance should be the desire to make the world a better place to live in for everyone within its society. It then becomes a matter of how best to achieve that aim anyway I don’t want to say too much at this point and throw it open to the forum.
Governance is all regional, and they all have different agendas, not necessarily for the good of those they govern. In the UK you are a "subject" of the Queen, here in the US we are free citizens with a representitive government of elected officials. We are all exposed to government decisions that further their own agendas that often result in the pain of suffering of those they govern. Good governance promotes well being amongst it's people, bad governance represses it's people and does harm to them. Personally I don't see much good governance happening on this planet at this time. It seems the people are treated as property of the governments instead of individuals of free will seeking a better life for themselves. Just my perspective, your mileage may vary.
The UK also has a freely representative government - its called the House of Commons, the lower chamber of Parliament. The Queen is the head of state, not the head of government and has virtually no say in the affairs of the people. Members of Parliament (MPs) are voted in regionally, and there are also town councils, etc. The British Parliamentary system of government is one of the most successful and widely used democratic republic systems in the world.
good governance is small and limited. It stays out of the way of individuals lives and let's the chips fall where they may.
Lafin But as you say - we are free citizens with a representative government of elected officials – BUT if you are electing bad representatives who are only furthering their own agendas resulting in suffering to the voters then isn’t the problem with the voters for electing bad representatives? It seems to me you are blaming ‘government’ (an elected government) for being ‘bad’ when the true problem is a dysfunctional political system that allows ‘bad’ representatives into power, it would seem then to me that the solution would then be to try and fix the political system so elections get ‘good’ representatives into power. That of course is harder than just blaming ‘government’ because it means taking a long look at your whole political system and working out what is not working. Can you do that?
verminous Sorry but these are slogans, and to me the problem with slogans is that they are great to shout but nearly always fall flat on their face when looked at. I mean what is meant by ‘small and limited’. I mean historically those ‘governments’ with little power have mainly resulted in a few gaining power over the many (to the detriment of the many). Again this seems a charter for might is right, with dominance going to those with power and influence.
I'm guessing the individual who criticized you for saying that you wanted to make the world a better place to live in- did so because he assumes everyone is as self-focused as he is. (Although he sometimes feigns concern for society -but that's just part of his snake oil sales pitch.) I agree with the idea that the aim of any good governance should be the desire to make the world a better place to live in for everyone within its society. Good governance would also act in ways that promote neighborly and global peace. It would be forward looking, aiming to leave a sustainable society (and planet) for future generations. That's a tall enough order for now.
