I am a citizen not a consumer
From:
Pete Thomson
Date:
Aug 01 08:16 UTC
Short link
James Gilmour wrote:
> ...there is another expectation of government, namely that it will
> pursue a coherent set of policies and actions across the whole of
> the political sphere. ...
and Michael Allan replied:
> In that example (park planning), decision making by the neighbours has
> actually *enhanced* the overall coherence of policy and action ...
> A centrally planned approach to the same ends (useful parks) would be
> less coherent and less feasible.
but I think they're talking about different kinds of coherence. If I've
understood rightly, James means a rational coherence that wants an overall plan
and might say things like "based on a needs assessment, that particular park is
not a priority for investment this year". Michael is talking about a political
coherence that makes political backing rather than rational planning the basis
for every decision, and so makes politics an integral part of the decision
process in a way that doesn't happen for most decisions in typical
representative democracies.
Michael, do you believe that's what has to happen to make people behave as
citizens rather than consumers? James, do you think it would have that effect?