Eran on ‘Big Government and Shrinking Civil Society’

MP Eran Wickramaratne delivered an address to a joint meeting of the Rotary Clubs of Colombo South, Colombo East and Fort, on ‘Big Government and Shrinking Civil Society’.

He said that the increasing size of the Sri Lankan Government had not increased social solidarity or reduced poverty and injustice. The State has grown at the expense of individual liberty and community responsibility.

“Today our dependency on the state has increased, so we are told what to do, or the State makes sure we do it their way. Even the Employees Pension Benefit Bill, which is supposed to be in the interest of workers, is widely viewed as another expansion of the Big State. We have now reached the point where the Big State is retarding the growth of civil society,” he said.

Wickramaratne noted that “we need a welfare system which is not mere handouts but are tied to opportunities and results”.

“We need to look beyond Samurdhi. We need cash payments for the poor which are related to predetermined outcomes in education, business and so on. We must reward responsible behaviour. We need depoliticised parent-teacher associations in our schools, give freedom for academics to run their own university administration, welfare societies, building societies and cooperatives – where the community will look out for the welfare of each other. Humanity, generosity and creativity are evaporating in the absence of civil society,” he continued.

Wickramaratne went on to assert: “So we need to take power from the Big Government and give it to the people. Create channels for people to interact with their legislators even at pradeshiya sabha and municipal levels of government.  Greater information, more transparency and more accountability will be the result.”

He said that what he presented during the meeting was based on optimism that social change is possible and the fight against poverty, corruption and injustice can be won if parents, teachers and religious leaders get together. “This calls for a cultural change beyond the change of Governments. We must start now,” he concluded.