Healthy Governance - A Metric
I think of Healthy Governance as being focused on the practical realities of administering a communities shared resources for the equal benefit of all members of that community.
Healthy governance sets the context of governance as operating within as a shared responsibility of duty of care for one another. In that regards healthy governance has to be evidence led at all times. Opinion and belief are insufficient to meet the responsibility of duty of care.
Healthy governance sets the global context of governance as nurturing, caring for and stewarding of the habitat within which the community lives and from which that community draws living materials and other resources.
In the case of States, and in relation to healthy Governance we can apply this metric of care to taxation, which is collected from all, in one way or another, by the State, and is therefore a primary community shared resource. Healthy governance will determine that that resource is deployed with wisdom and equity to nurture the whole population.
Taxation is a resource which does not belong to the Government, as a possession, but is rather a resource held in trust, to be dutifully and carefully deployed on behalf of the whole of society, and the population the Government governs for.
State borrowings are borrowed on the collateral of the States ability to pay the debt with taxation, which is gathered from the population. The population underwrite Government borrowings on behalf of the population.
State currency, issued by State owned banks, must also be understood as a utility. Money as a medium of exchange that is deployed to nurture the whole population.
Against that back drop, we can look at those who extract wealth from economies, and who sequester wealth away from the people, and who deploy that wealth as a political utility to preserve their political power, in order to impede regulation of their extraction of wealth. Who do they serve? Who do they harm?
In the case of States, and in relation to healthy Governance we can apply this metric of care to taxation, which is collected from all, in one way or another, by the State, and is therefore a primary community shared resource. Healthy governance will determine that that resource is deployed with wisdom and equity to nurture the whole population.
Taxation is a resource which does not belong to the Government, as a possession, but is rather a resource held in trust, to be dutifully and carefully deployed on behalf of the whole of society, and the population the Government governs for.
State borrowings are borrowed on the collateral of the States ability to pay the debt with taxation, which is gathered from the population. The population underwrite Government borrowings on behalf of the population.
State currency, issued by State owned banks, must also be understood as a utility. Money as a medium of exchange that is deployed to nurture the whole population.
Against that back drop, we can look at those who extract wealth from economies, and who sequester wealth away from the people, and who deploy that wealth as a political utility to preserve their political power, in order to impede regulation of their extraction of wealth. Who do they serve? Who do they harm?
Governing for is not the same as ruling over.
Apply that metric to all areas of policy.
Update on metrics: "Ignore death and disease, look at wages!"
- Policy must be evidence based, as a fundamental duty of care - opinion and belief cannot supplant evidence. All available evidence must be brought to bear on any issue.
- Governance must not be submissive or beholden to special interests of any kind. It can and must be aware of all interests, and seek to balance those without causing harm to the people or the shared commons. No costs can be externalised.
- Adversarial dynamics must be rejected. Labour vs Tories is toxic. Christian vs Muslim is toxic. Atheism vs Religionism is toxic. Difference ought to generate richness and complexity rather than conflict.
- Avoidable adverse outcomes must be avoided, and where they occur, by accident or lack of foresight, or due to changes beyond human agency, or by deliberate action by the State, or any others, they must be remedied immediately. Allowing avoidable harm to persist once it has been identified is unacceptable.
- Long term health and safety is as much a priority as short term health and safety
- The policies must be proven to nurture the whole community, in a balanced and healthy manner.
This metric applies also to the seas, waterways, lands we inhabit. These too are shared community resources, and not just for us humans of developed societies.
We share this Earth. Fact. That has social and psychological implications.
Healthy Governance acknowledges this.
This is a discussion to be had across the grass roots, at parish council level, in schools and in places of religious faith worship, in pubs, in clubs, on buses, in all settings. It is an understanding that must begin from the ground, must come from the people for whom Government governs.
For me, the old politic of competing powers is, in humane terms, immature and dysfunctional - it is a diseased way of conducting matters, and utterly toxic. War is a mental health issue, and a health and safety issue, as well as a matter of morality.
I cannot participate in current political discourse as a loyal citizen, loyal to the people, my, family, my neighbours, and all who live within the State, loyal to the common good, the shared commons, without being a dissenting voice, precisely because this fundamental truth is being ignored, denied, avoided across all mainstreams, and beyond.
The system is in reality characterised largely by a behavioural dynamic of habitual bullying that has become institutionalised, and I cannot vote for it to continue.
Who to vote for in a Warring State?
The Power Inquiry 2006
The Power inquiry, an independent investigation into the condition of democracy in Britain, was set up in 2004. The members of its commission (chaired by Helena Kennedy) hosted meetings around Britain and heard submissions from a wide variety of interest groups, professionals, and concerned citizens. The commission published its report on 27 February 2006.
Apply that metric to all areas of policy.
Update on metrics: "Ignore death and disease, look at wages!"
Metrics for Healthy Governance: https://t.co/RNz1bTNxcI
— Egalitarian Corneilius (@coreluminous) October 3, 2021
Not Johnson.#SchoolStrike2021 #JohnsonLiedPeopleDied #JohnsonOut#Starmermustgo #unitygovernment#ZeroCovid pic.twitter.com/y9mDl5gZim
- Policy must be evidence based, as a fundamental duty of care - opinion and belief cannot supplant evidence. All available evidence must be brought to bear on any issue.
- Governance must not be submissive or beholden to special interests of any kind. It can and must be aware of all interests, and seek to balance those without causing harm to the people or the shared commons. No costs can be externalised.
- Adversarial dynamics must be rejected. Labour vs Tories is toxic. Christian vs Muslim is toxic. Atheism vs Religionism is toxic. Difference ought to generate richness and complexity rather than conflict.
- Avoidable adverse outcomes must be avoided, and where they occur, by accident or lack of foresight, or due to changes beyond human agency, or by deliberate action by the State, or any others, they must be remedied immediately. Allowing avoidable harm to persist once it has been identified is unacceptable.
- Long term health and safety is as much a priority as short term health and safety
- The policies must be proven to nurture the whole community, in a balanced and healthy manner.
This metric applies also to the seas, waterways, lands we inhabit. These too are shared community resources, and not just for us humans of developed societies.
We share this Earth. Fact. That has social and psychological implications.
Healthy Governance acknowledges this.
This is a discussion to be had across the grass roots, at parish council level, in schools and in places of religious faith worship, in pubs, in clubs, on buses, in all settings. It is an understanding that must begin from the ground, must come from the people for whom Government governs.
For me, the old politic of competing powers is, in humane terms, immature and dysfunctional - it is a diseased way of conducting matters, and utterly toxic. War is a mental health issue, and a health and safety issue, as well as a matter of morality.
I cannot participate in current political discourse as a loyal citizen, loyal to the people, my, family, my neighbours, and all who live within the State, loyal to the common good, the shared commons, without being a dissenting voice, precisely because this fundamental truth is being ignored, denied, avoided across all mainstreams, and beyond.
The system is in reality characterised largely by a behavioural dynamic of habitual bullying that has become institutionalised, and I cannot vote for it to continue.
Who to vote for in a Warring State?
The Power Inquiry 2006
The Power inquiry, an independent investigation into the condition of democracy in Britain, was set up in 2004. The members of its commission (chaired by Helena Kennedy) hosted meetings around Britain and heard submissions from a wide variety of interest groups, professionals, and concerned citizens. The commission published its report on 27 February 2006.
The Power Inquiry of 2004, which is now 20 years ago, was curated by Joseph Rowntree and many across the community voluntary sector, the civil service, social care, education, healthcare and others relevant to the discussion.
A stellar team mapped the potential of devolved, decentralised legislative power out in some detail.
It was and remains a very well reasoned, evidence led, peer reviewed masterful thesis on how to make Government responsive, accountable and responsible to a democratically engaged population. More integrity, more engagement, more trust.
You can read an executive summary and recommendations here and the full report here.
You can read an executive summary and recommendations here and the full report here.
I felt at the time that The Power Inquiry was in part an acknowledgement that the democratic voice of the electorate, which was ignored in March 2003, must prevail. Or the Law remains unheld. One funder told me that there was a concern that if populations did not have strong local political and legislative engagement and infrastructure in place which is the material outcome of human solidarity, things might be very difficult if disruptive agencies enter into the political legislative domain.
What is envisaged in The Power Inquiry, is a political action engagement shared responsibility framework that devolves decision making responsibility to the electorate through local assemblies, where local people sit at the policy formulation table as equals sharing the responsibility for proceeding with any given measure and where required, striving to resolving problems as they emerge. They propose 47 changes to the existing traditional system, a system which all agree is inherently unfair and anti-democratic.
An article about The Power Inquiry on OpenDemocracy.
"After eighteen months of investigation, the final report of Power is a devastating critique of the state of formal democracy in Britain. Many of us actively support campaigns such as Greenpeace or the Countryside Alliance. And millions more take part in charity or community work. But political parties and elections have been a growing turn-off for years.
The cause is not apathy. The problem is that we don't feel we have real influence over the decisions made in our name. The need for a solution is urgent. And that solution is radical. Nothing less than a major programme of reform to give power back to the people of Britain..."
There have been many, many attempts through recorded history made at scoping out healthier metrics for Government. from Ancient Chinese and Sumerian, Greek, Roman, from Magna Carta to The US Constitution, from The Chartists to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
The Power Inquiry of 2004-2006 fits comfortably into that tradition.
I have written a more detailed blog on the many recommendations of The Power Inquiry.
Power Disparity
The asymmetry of leverage Power Disparity infantalises those exposed to it who in all honesty hold little power. By infantilsiation I mean the relative capability of exercising power between the two is similar to a adult and and infant.
For Democracy to be genuine and effective it must involve and engage the citizen in much more than voting. Voting on it's own confers little power to the electorate. In fact it reduces the electorate to an audience. It voids the electorate as a participant in policy deliberation, decision making and over sight, it removes all responsibility from the electorate. Indeed voting infantalises the electorate, precisely because the State system pretends otherwise.
There have been many, many attempts through recorded history made at scoping out healthier metrics for Government. from Ancient Chinese and Sumerian, Greek, Roman, from Magna Carta to The US Constitution, from The Chartists to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
The Power Inquiry of 2004-2006 fits comfortably into that tradition.
I have written a more detailed blog on the many recommendations of The Power Inquiry.
Power Disparity
The asymmetry of leverage Power Disparity infantalises those exposed to it who in all honesty hold little power. By infantilsiation I mean the relative capability of exercising power between the two is similar to a adult and and infant.
For Democracy to be genuine and effective it must involve and engage the citizen in much more than voting. Voting on it's own confers little power to the electorate. In fact it reduces the electorate to an audience. It voids the electorate as a participant in policy deliberation, decision making and over sight, it removes all responsibility from the electorate. Indeed voting infantalises the electorate, precisely because the State system pretends otherwise.
Other 'better' people, entitled to rule, better suited educated to stand as 'superiors' who will make the 'tough decisions' and we, the people vote as supplicants.
That was the careful political power set-up determined in the 19th and 20th Centuries, by the Establishment, to preserve their order, their dominance and to protect their Wealth Extraction indefinitely. Wealth infiltrated every political and social movement that emerged from the abject social conditions that ordinary folk were forced to endure, during the start of the Industrial Revolution and beyond. That is still the case.
That experience of slowly learning to organise politically as a class, within a rigid class system, is where Socialism in England was birthed. Watt Tyler and the peasants gaining rights after the Black Death Plague was a step in that direction.
The Power Inquiry continues in that tradition, bringing it up to the 21st Century.
We need a metric for Governance that is truly 2s1st Century best practice, wisdom and skill oriented,
That 19th Century set-up has led directly to Climate Change, Air Pollution, Poverty, War Fare, Plastic Pollution Environment Degradation and more corruption. It succeeded in it's aim, but is putting the entire human species at risk and therefore it is inadequate to the task of confronting the problems it has created.
Denial of this is a comfort on the death march to hell and I just can't do that. Can you?
That was the careful political power set-up determined in the 19th and 20th Centuries, by the Establishment, to preserve their order, their dominance and to protect their Wealth Extraction indefinitely. Wealth infiltrated every political and social movement that emerged from the abject social conditions that ordinary folk were forced to endure, during the start of the Industrial Revolution and beyond. That is still the case.
That experience of slowly learning to organise politically as a class, within a rigid class system, is where Socialism in England was birthed. Watt Tyler and the peasants gaining rights after the Black Death Plague was a step in that direction.
The Power Inquiry continues in that tradition, bringing it up to the 21st Century.
We need a metric for Governance that is truly 2s1st Century best practice, wisdom and skill oriented,
That 19th Century set-up has led directly to Climate Change, Air Pollution, Poverty, War Fare, Plastic Pollution Environment Degradation and more corruption. It succeeded in it's aim, but is putting the entire human species at risk and therefore it is inadequate to the task of confronting the problems it has created.
Denial of this is a comfort on the death march to hell and I just can't do that. Can you?
Kindest regards
Corneilius
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2 comments:
Interesting read. I was left wondering whether the only way to really apply the above would be in a federal state system, where accountability is easier to marshal... that was my second thought; my first being: a system like this I would sacrifice a larger amount of my autonomy to achieve. Thank you
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your comments.
I think that we need more autonomy to achieve this kind of Governance....
I think when genuine is respected at home, (many homes do) and in schooling, (where currently it is rare) then children will mature into adults who respect autonomy, and who understand that healthy autonomy implies response ability as well as responsibility. They will build systems that reflect that.
I was part of The Power Inquiry of 2006 (a very very small part)in the UK which looked at how democratic power operates, and a key insight was that our autonomy is damaged by the presence of an executive that can make decisions that afflict people's lived experience with only elections (which are rigged by the FPTP system and the way mass media triggers and manipulates) as the people's come back.
Here's a brief over view I wrote some time ago : https://dwylcorneilius.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/powr-inquiry-recommendations-and-russel.html
The full document is available here: http://www.jrrt.org.uk/publications/power-people-independent-inquiry-britains-democracy-full-report
We really do need participation in policy formulation, implementation and oversight to reside with the grass roots - we pay their wages, we have a right and a duty to ensure they do what we require.
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