ABUSE OF FAITH IN GOVERNANCE: MYSTERY OF THE UNASKED QUESTION

COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 20 May 2009

Anthony Judge

Introduction

This is written in a period of multiple and extraordinary collective crises of "faith". It is however curious that the contexts for such crises are quite distinct and the faith in question in each case is not considered as having anything in common with that in other cases. The term used is however the same (or synonymous) and would seem to relate to a similar process of belief. Despite this implication for the individual, the various institutional manifestations of such faith are held to be distinct and not comparable.

What follows is an exploration of the implications of any such comparability.

"Governance" is considered here in the generic sense of how particular social processes are "governed", whether by "government" or through the governance of an organization, a discipline, or otherwise. It is the faith in such governance processes, by those who are governed, whose abuse is the concern here. The concern therefore includes both the dependence (on the part of the governed) on such faith by the governors and the faith of the governed that governance will be appropriate.

The argument also raises the possibility that a complex society is not governable as governance is currently understood. Aspects of this issue have been considered previously (Governing Civilization through Civilizing Governance: global challenge for a turbulent future, 2008).

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This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 20 May 2009.

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