The Most Important Characteristic of a Good Government

Ben Alexander

Professor O’Donohoe

PSC-101-005

20 September 2017

The most important characteristic of a good government

        When the succession from England occurred, the founding fathers of America saw fit to create a document to guide the people while learning from the mistakes of the previous years of being controlled. Good governance is the key characteristic to a good government. There are eight elements within good governance. It is, “participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law.” (www.unescap.org). For the remainder of the paper each element will be briefly discussed in relation to the Constitution and its powers.

        In order to create a civilized society rules and laws must be created and enforced, hence, the creation of the Constitution. The Constitution holds two main purposes: to establish the structure of a government and to protect individual rights of the citizens. Participation by the governed, to be effective, needs to be informed and organized. All citizens should have a voice in decision making, directly or through intermediate institutions. Freedom of association, and freedom of speech are essential; as well as, an organized civil society to participate constructively. These freedoms are protected within the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights.

        Consensus decision-making is a group decision-making process in which group members develop and agree to support a decision in the best interest of the whole. Good governance requires mediation of these different interests in society to reach a conclusion on what is best and how this can be achieved. These decisions need to be made in consideration with short term and long term needs for sustainable human development. A firm supporting factor within the government can be found within the boundaries of the separation of powers among the three branches of government.

        Accountability must be present and enforced as well for a viable, controlled government. The Constitution is known as the “Supreme Law of the Land” and holds influence over all lower level courts which assists in the accountability factor of good governance. Decision-makers, whether in government, the private sector, or civil society organizations are accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Without proper transparency and rule of law, accountability cannot be enforced. We rest on the authority of all levels of government to enforce laws as far down as city ordinances all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.