Text 2: system performance

The policy process has been analysed above in largely 'managerial' terms. How are decisions made? What stages are there in the policy process? How effective, efficient and economical (the 'three Es') is policy making? However, a series of deeper 'political' issues underlie these questions. These are not so much concerned with what government does as with what government should do, that is, with what government is 'for'. The problem is that this uncovers those intractable normative questions that lie at the heart of politics. It is impossible to know what government is for without understanding such issues as the nature of justice and the desirable balance between freedom and authority, without, in other words, having a vision of the good society'.

Since views about such matters differ fundamentally, the standards against which governments and political systems can be judged also vary. Four widely held such standards can nevertheless be identified, each shedding a very particular light on system performance.

Stability performance

it can reasonably be claimed that the maintenance of stability and order is the most basic function of government. With the exception of anarchists, who argue that social order will emerge from the spontaneous actions of free individuals, all political thinkers and philosophers have endorsed government as the only means of keeping chaos and instability at bay. From this perspective, the core purpose of government is to govern, to rule, to ensure stability through the exercise of authority. This, in turn, requires that government is able to perpetuate its own existence and ensure the survival of the broader political system. System performance can thus be judged on the basis of criteria such as longevity and endurance, as the simple fact of survival indicates a regime's ability to contain or reconcile conflict. However, there are differing views about how this goal can be achieved.

These views fall into two broad categories. The first stems from the essentially liberal belief that stable government must be rooted in consensus and consent. In this view, what ensures the long-term survival of a regime is its responsiveness to popular demands and pressures. This is expressed in the language of systems theory as the ability to bring the 'outputs' of government into line with the various inputs'. This has often been identified as a particular strength of western liberal democracies. Nevertheless, liberal democracy also has its drawbacks in this respect. Chief amongst these is that usponsiveness may generate instability, insofar as it heightens popular expectations of government and fosters the illusion that the political ^siem can meet all demands and accommodate all 'inputs'. From ibis perspective, the centra] dilemma of stable government is that usponsiveness must be balanced against effectiveness. Government must be sensitive to external pressures, but it must also be able to impose its will on society when those pressures threaten to generate inceoncilable conflict.

This latter fear underpins the alternative view of stability and order. Conservative thinkers have traditionally linked stability and order not to responsiveness but to authority. Conservatives have been particularly concerned to stress the degree to which political authority is underpinned by shared values and a common culture. In this view, stability and order are largely the product of social and cultural cohesion, the capacity of society to generate respect for authority and maintain support for established institutions.

However, the weakness of this view of stability is that, since it relies on authority being exerted from above, it may not place effective constraints on the exercise 'of government power. If stability is seen as an end in itself, divorced from considerations such as democratic legitimacy, social justice and respect for human rights, the result may simply be tyranny and oppression.

Material performance

The idea that political systems can and should be judged by their material performance is a familiar one. Governments are usually re­elected in periods of growth and widening prosperity, and defeated during recessions and economic crises. Similarly, there can be little doubt that the success of the broader political system is linked to its capacity to 'deliver the goods'. Widespread poverty and low levels of economic growth in developing states have deepened social and ethnic tensions, fuelled corruption, and undermined attempts to establish constitutional and representative government.

The central dilemma that arises from the use of material prosperity as a performance indicator is that growth must he balanced against fairness. Two contrasting views of this problem can be identified. The free-market view holds that general prosperity is best achieved by a system of unregulated capitalism. From this perspective, economic growth is best promoted by material incentives that encourage enterprise and endeavour and penalise laziness. The welfare state should therefore act only as a safety net that protects individuals from absolute poverty in the sense that they lack the basic means of subsistence. In this view, rising social budgets led to a growing tax burden which, in turn, merely hampered the process of wealth generation.

The rival social-democratic view highlights the moral and economic benefits of equality. Not only is unregulated competition¹ condemned for promoting greed and conflict, but it is also seen as inefficient and unproductive. The virtue of social justice is that, by taking the distribution of wealth away from the vagaries of the market, it ensures that all citizens have a stake in society and that each of them has an incentive to contribute. In tolerating wide social inequality, free-market policies thus nm ihc risk of promoting social exclusion, reflected in the growth of an underclass that is a breeding ground for crime and social unrest. Long-term and sustainable prosperity therefore requires that material incentives operate within a broader framework of fair distribution and effective welfare.

Citizenship performance

A citizen is a member of a political community or state, endowed with a set of rights and a set of obligations. Citizenship is therefore Hie 'public' face of individual existence.

There are three sets of rights': civil rights, political rights and social rights. Civil rights are the rights necessary for 'individual freedom'. These include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of conscience, the right to equality before the law and the right to own property. Civil rights are therefore rights that are exercised within civil society; they are 'negative' rights m ihe sense that they limit or check the exercise of government pow^rer. Political rights provide the individual with the opportunity to participate in political life. The central political rights are thus the right to vote, the right to stand for election and the right to hold public office. The provision of political rights clearly requires the development of universal suffrage, political equality, and democratic government. Finally, citizenship implies social rights which guarantee i he individual a minimum social status and therefore provide the basis for the exercise of both civil and political rights. These are 'positive' ughts, as the right 'to live the life of a civilised being according to the standards prevailing in society' (Marshall).

A major dilemma nevertheless confronts those who employ citizenship as a performance criterion: the need to balance rights against duties and thereby to apportion responsibilities between the individual and the community. Since long this issue has been taken up in the growing debate between liberalism and communitarian ism. ( otnmunitarian theorists argue that the 'politics of rights' should be icplaced by a 'politics of the common good'. In this view, liberal individualism, in effect, eats itself. By investing individuals with ughts, it simply breeds atomism and alienation, weakening the communal bonds that hold society together. From this perspective, ■lonwestern societies that may appear to perform poorly in relation to citizenship indicators (with, for example, poor records on human :ts'.hts) may nevertheless succeed in creating a stronger sense of

* (immunity and social belonging.

♦ Discuss/check your considerations with the rest of the class.

AFTER-READING activity

♦ Work with the dictionary and consult the text to do ex. 3, 4

• Read the text in ^m*>^re <i^eP^tn to do 'The after-reading exercises'.

Ex, 1. Comprehension ch^ck

1. What is at the heart of politics?

2. What are the standards against which governments and political systems can be judged¹?

3. Contrast liberal and conservative thinkers' views on stability performance.

1. Compare two contrasting views on material performance and welfare state (free-market view and social democratic view).

4. Comment on the three sets of rights.

5. What is a major dilemma that confronts those who employ citizenship as a government/system performance criterion?

Ex. 2. Terminology

Match the notions, utilitarianism, incrementalism, relativism; citizenship, autonomy, atomism with the definitions

• ... is a relationship between the individual and the state in which the two are bound together by reciprocal rights and duties.

• ... holds that statements or acts can only be judged in relation to) their context, denying the existence of objective or 'absolute' standards.

• The term literally means 'self-rule*.

• ... is a theory that decisions ^{are not} tnade ⁱⁿ the light of clear-cut objectives, but through small adjustments dictated by changing circumstanc^es-

• ... is a moral philosophy that equates 'good' with pleasure or¹ happiness, and 'evil' with pain or unhappiness. In political terms, it has been linked to classical liberalism, providing a theoretical and moral basis for egoistical individualism.

• ... All matter consists of different arrangements of a limited number of indivisible particles or atoms.

Ex. 3. Translate from English into Russian

... in largely 'managerial' terms; to uncover intractable normative questions; the standards against which governments and political systems can be judged; a regime's ability to contain or reconcile conflict; differing views; stable government must be rooted in consensus and consent; responsiveness to popular demands and pressures; the ability to bring the 'outputs' of government into line with the various 'inputs'; responsiveness must be balanced against elTectiveness; stability, divorced from any considerations; fuelled corruption; to be promoted by material incentives; to penalise laziness; to take the distribution of wealth away from the vagaries of the market; a breeding ground for crime and social unrest; the right iо stand for election and the right to hold public office; it breeds atomism and alienation.

\.\. 4. Translate from Russian into English

Выступать в поддержку чего-либо (лежать в основе ч-л); природа справедливости; желаемый баланс между свободой и нчастью; спонтанные действия свободных личностей; основная цель системы правления; долговечность и прочность (выжива­ние); ответная реакция (властей) может вызвать нестабильность; создавать иллюзии; власти должны реагировать на внешние воз-к-нствия; навязать обществу свою точку зрения; вызвать непри­миримый конфликт; общие ценности и культура; социальное и культурное единство; повсеместная бедность; инициативность и старание; растущее бремя налогов; препятствовать производству оокгтетв; противоположная точка зрения; поощрять алчность; предоставлять права в соответствии со стандартами, сущест­вующими для всего общества; ослабить связи внутри общины.

Кх. 5. Fill in the blanks in column 'A' with the topical vocabulary units from column 'B\ making all necessary changes

A. B.

i To ... to stability through the a. universal suffrage exercise of authority a government must be able ... its own existence and ensure the .survival of the broader political system.

2. According to the constitution all citizens equally ... with basic human rights regardless of their social status.

3. The Russian Foreign Minister's positive contribution to the work of the conference on banning nuclear tests ... the prestige of the country.

4. The more radical notion of... ... was advanced from the late eighteenth century onwards by utilitarian theorists such as Jeremy Bentham and James Mill (1773-1836).

5. Responsiveness of liberal democracy to popular demands and pressures can foster the illusion that the political system can ... all 'inputs'.

6. The free- market view holds that a ... society can best be achieved by a system of unregulated capitalism.

7. The need to balance rights against duties means ...of responsibilities between the individual and the community.

8. Since long the relationship between the individual and the

state in the growing

debate between liberalism and comrnunitarianism.

9. Some intractable normative matters that ... at the heart of politics are still worth considering.

10. When a country is going through a deep economic crisis, we say it is in a period of ...

11. Political authority ... by shared values and a common culture.

12. All UN member-states must pay their ... to the organization's budget.

b. to accommodate

c. to invest

d. to contribute, to perpetuate

e. to heighten

f. to take up

g. prosperous

h. apportionment

i. contributions

j. to lie

k. stagnation 1. to underpin

l \. 6. Fill in the blanks with 'effective', 'effectiveness', 'efficient', efficiency'

¹ Legal-rational authority promotes ... through rational division of labour.

An international treaty becomes ... when ratified by the

signatory nations' Parliaments. < The '... cause' in the Aristotelian logic means the immediate

producer of a change. I An ... expert is a consultant who advises the management of a

business where and how it could secure increased .... *■ The central dilemma of a stable government is that

responsiveness must be balanced against . i> Not only is unregulated competition condemned for promoting

greed and conflict, but it is also seen as far from being ... and

productive.

' The three 'Es' of policy-making mean how ... and economic it is.

The issue of a new and more ... international security system

featured prominently in the conference agenda. '» ... of scientific research can't be appreciated immediately. It

might take some time to evaluate its impact. h» If a system operates with a minimum of effort, expense, or

waste, it is called an ... system.

Kx. 7. Complete the sentences, using the correct form of a verb {(icrund, Participle or Infinitive). Watch the topical vocabulary

1 II'the advantages of interdependence outweigh the disadvantages, the the leaders must harness the means for (accelerate) its development.

.' Under conditions of fierce competition and resurgent nationalism i he temptation (seek) isolation from foreign economic dependence by (create) barriers to trade and other transactions may be irresistible.

• There is no longer a contradiction between patriotism and concern for the world. For we can only save ourselves by (save) other people also.

I F.H.Carr (1939), a pioneering political realist, was convinced of realism of idealism, (maintain) that opposition to the general interests of humankind does not serve one's self-interest.

•> The new technology can create new ways of (prevent) diseases hut also new way of (destroy) others in war.

6. World politics has largely been a record of countries (prepare), (wage) and (recover) from wars with each other (Morgentau 1985).

7. (Become) or (remain) first in the international arena means (compete) for political and economic means (bend) others to one's will.

8. With global leadership comes the burden of responsibility and necessity of (set) the pace and (maintain) world order.

9. Pressure will mount for a new theoretical paradigm (replace) orthodox realism and neorealism.

10. The scarce resources are being used for (sustain) the arms race, thereby (hinder) the economic development of nations and international cooperation.

11. A rise in a state's economic output has different consequences for people currently living in poor societies (compare) with those in rich societies.

12. History has indeed 'ended' in the sense that democratic governments (practice) free market capitalism at home and free trade abroad will become the rule throughout the world.

Ex. 8. Open the brackets and translate the text into Russian