Good Governance. What does it mean?

Are the optimists right? Does a good future for humanity rest on hope and a citizen-led, organized effort to keep our civilization from funnelling down the drain hole of history?

ChatGPT says:

Good governance refers to the process of governing that is transparent, accountable, participatory, and responsive to the needs of the people ¹. It is a normative or evaluative attribute that adds value to the process of governing ¹. From a human rights perspective, good governance primarily refers to the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources, and guarantee the realization of human rights ¹.

While there is no internationally agreed definition of good governance, it may span the following topics: full respect of human rights, the rule of law, effective participation, multi-actor partnerships, political pluralism, transparent and accountable processes and institutions, an efficient and effective public sector, legitimacy, access to knowledge, information and education, political empowerment of people, equity, sustainability, and attitudes and values that foster responsibility, solidarity, and tolerance ¹.

In summary, good governance relates to the political and institutional processes and outcomes that are necessary to achieve the goals of development ¹. The true test of good governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights: civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights ¹.

The Human Rights Council has identified the key attributes of good governance as transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation, and responsiveness (to the needs of the people) ¹. Good governance and human rights are mutually reinforcing. Human rights standards and principles provide a set of values to guide the work of governments and other political and social actors. They also provide a set of performance standards against which these actors can be held accountable. Moreover, human rights principles inform the content of good governance efforts: they may inform the development of legislative frameworks, policies, programs, budgetary allocations, and other measures. On the other hand, without good governance, human rights cannot be respected and protected in a sustainable manner. The implementation of human rights relies on a conducive and enabling environment. This includes appropriate legal frameworks and institutions as well as political, managerial, and administrative processes responsible for responding to the rights and needs of the population ¹.

Why do I care?

Most religions honour holidays as a time of reflection and celebration for our blessings in life.

Every political election is a time of reflection too, but not exactly for our blessings. Many voters focus on how they have been deceived or exploited by others, and when they have been otherwise victimized by “bad actors” who they wish to constrain or punish for their misdeeds.

When the topic of “good governance” arose, my first question was: “Good by whose values?”

Political Values

Governance is the domain of people managing people within a majority-held set of values. Most voters ignore evidence of these values in favour of policies from which they hope to gain some advantage for themselves, their families, their tribe or a specific community of people with like interests.

I was attracted by the four “principles” upon which Maxime Bernier grounded the Peoples Party of Canada when he announced it five years ago: Individual Freedom, Personal Responsibility, Respect and Fairness (equal treatment for all under a system of governance that applies humane, just and unbiased laws).

Below, I have interpreted them in the context of Libertarianism as I understand it.

Personal Responsibility.

We each come into this world possessing our PERSON = body, mind, will and life energy. Initially, we are fully dependent on others (parents). As we grow, we learn to cope independently in a world full of risks and challenges. By adulthood, our community members expect that we are fully able to survive and thrive on our own while participating as a productive community member.

Individual Freedom

The primary condition that must exist for a person undertake Personal Responsibility is the Freedom of Informed Choice to make the best decisions under any circumstances. The polar opposite of absolute freedom is slavery. There exists an imposed continuum of constraints with many degrees of freedom that each person may encounter in life in the form of societal “rules” - laws, regulations, customs, traditions and tenets of morality.

Every individual is uniquely equipped to meet life’s challenges with personal assets (strength, intelligence, creativity, etcetera) and material assets (money, property, tools, social position, etcetera). As such, each individual’s ability and prospects for surviving and thriving will differ from other individuals.

Freedom provides the social and economic environment to explore and make the best of these assets throughout life in a process of self discovery and cooperation with others in community.

Respect.

Some people believe that respect in the eyes of others must be earned by admirable deeds. Others assign respect based on social status (elected or unelected) relating to personal power, wealth, fame and authority.

Mutual respect between persons provides the best conditions for establishing a reciprocally rewarding relationship. It discourages aggression against each other and fosters life-affirming cooperation and trade (voluntary exchanges of goods or services) between parties peacefully.

One’s reputation is an asset. Few people will risk their reputation by dishonest or disrespectful behaviour. Those who do, however, inevitably face consequences meted by community members which may be long lasting if the harmful actions remain unresolved and uncompensated to the harmed parties.

Fairness.

Like respect, fairness is subjective. It is measured against a yardstick that is very personal,  often grounded in emotions and ideological convictions. The yardstick of a socialist will differ from a capitalist. The same applies to a poor person versus a wealthy one, or a strongman compared to a weak one.

In legislation, an idealist wants statutes to apply equally to everyone regardless of any other considerations such as ethnicity. A lobbyist will try to influence the custodians of the Honey Pot (the source of all political power) in order to get access to public money or legislation which will favour the group that he or she represents.

Good Governance is amorphous.

We are a complex species. We evolve in fits and starts over long time horizons. History narrates the rise and fall of civilizations and empires. The rises are glorious and legendary. The falls are devastating. They usually begin with internal greed and corruption accompanied by a loss of wise and enduring leadership within the culture.

There are optimists among us who believe that “this time will be different” and they predict a better future for humanity. We must remain hopeful, they claim, and make the required effort to prevent the rot from setting into our communities and into the ever-growing centres of political power that seek to control us. This is what they believe will stop our civilization from disappearing into the drain hole of history.

I hope they’re right.