Good governance requires continuous attention

Saturday, 18 February 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

I refer to the news headline ‘Good Governance has been breached: Devapriya’. Good governance seems to have become a manthram or a political slogan. Good governance is however a continuous obligation and not a one-off affair.

Such continuity of good governance is also not automatic. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only way to ensure good governance is continual vigilance on the part of the people.

Men are not angels and given the inherent pursuit of self interest by individuals the only way to ensure continuous good governance is continual vigilance and monitoring of the actions of those who govern by those who are governed. This is why democracy is required although it is not a perfect system since he majority of people are far from wise.

Plato thought that only the wise should govern. This is a valid proposition if the wise will act in the general interest rather than in their own self-interest. But human beings being what they are they are guided by self interest except for a few rare individuals like the Buddha or Jesus Christ. But the problem is how to ensure that the wise who govern act in the interests of the governed and not in their interest.

This is the eternal conundrum and democracy involving regular elections and the enforcement of the Rule of Law against those in power is the best compromise we have achieved today. But democracy is not necessarily an efficient method to govern. In fact it is more inefficient than a benevolent dictatorship. But the problem is that there is no way to ensure a benevolent dictatorship given the inherent self interest of the people including those who are chosen to govern.

Good governance is a difficult concept to define. It has come to mean majority decision making. But the majority is not always right and this is particularly applicable in countries where the minority consists of different ethnic or religious composition. Their perceived interests may clash with the perceived interests of the minorities which are ethnic or religious in composition and which may differ from those of the majority. So eternal vigilance.

R.M.B. Senanayake