Post in I am a citizen not a consumer

Aug 01 21:58 UTC

Ella > Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 9:30 AM
> 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.
>
> I suspect that when James talk about the whole of the
> political sphere is talking about a wider approach than the
> objective of useful parks. For example, useful parks are
> likely to have an impact on our health (physical and mental)
> as well as make a place more attractive for tourists and investment.
>
> In both these I think that the neighbours are playing the
> part of citizens -in the health instance because they're
> working together on a societal goal and in the 2nd, well the
> same -the citizens are kind of working like "staff" of the
> country. Which would give the government a kind of management task.

The park planning example illustrates some coherent policies.  But what about
when the city council (local government) decides to
rezone a "redundant" school playing field for much needed local housing?  Then
there will less green space in the city, fewer places
for organised sport, fewer places for local children to play, and with what
overall consequences?   An example of incoherent
policies perhaps, but what about the priority need for more housing?

We have just had a new lamppost installed to illuminate a dark junction in our
street.  If the overall budget for street lighting
was fixed, as it almost certainly was, who elsewhere in the city didn't get
their new lamppost?  If we both got new lampposts, which
other part of the council's budget was raided?  and with what consequences?

At a much higher level of government, there are separate and overlapping
segments of the UK electorate who want: more public money
spent on transport infrastructure; more public money spent on public transport;
more public money spent on health services; general
levels of taxation of all kinds reduced.  (The list is almost endless!)  We
expect government to bring forward and implement a
coherent set of policies for everything that government can or should do.  But
when we campaign, locally for a new lamppost or
nationally for better health services, we do not attempt to address the wider
issues and resolve the inevitable conflicts, much less
attempt to devise a coherent approach to the whole public sphere.  It may be
unfair ("It's not my job"), but we do expect it of
government.  Maybe the reason why there is no grassroots clamour for
subsidiarity is that we do not want the difficult task and
responsibility of resolving the conflicts and developing coherent policies, not
even at the most local level on our little patch.

James

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