With few exceptions, democracy has not brought good government to new developing countries. What Asians value may not necessarily be what Americans or Europeans value. Westerners value the freedoms and liberties of the individual. As an Asian of Chinese cultural backround, my values are for a government which is honest, effective and efficient.
The basis of effective government is public confidence, and that confidence is endangered when ethical standards falter or appear to falter.
If there have been those who doubted whether a confederated representative democracy were a government competent to the wise and orderly management of the common concerns of a mighty nation, those doubts have been dispelled.
The government of England is one of the wisest in Europe, because there is a body there that examines this government continually and that continually examines itself.
What is the purpose of the government? When you examine most political debates, you usually find that question at the bedrock. What makes a government good? What makes one effective? What is government supposed to do, and what shouldn’t it do? The reason we disagree so much about politics is often because we hold different theories about what the purpose of government is.
People have to believe that government can work, and you have to show them that government can work.
To have good government, you often need less, not more, democracy.
What government is the best? That which teaches us to govern ourselves. [Ger., Welche Regierung die beste sei? Diejenige die uns lehrt uns selbst zu regieren.]
It is not be consolidation, or concentration of powers, but by their distribution, that good government is effected.
That is the best government which desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy.
Government functions best as a catalyst, not a cure. We need a smarter, more effective government, not a bigger one.
Energy in the executive is a leading character in the definition of a good government.
Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?
A feeble executive implies a feeble execution of the government. A feeble execution is but another phrase for a bad execution; and a government ill executed, whatever may be its theory, must be, in practice, a bad government.
Public policy in the twentieth century was about protecting and expanding the social compact, based on recognition that effective government at the federal level provides rules and services and safety measures that contribute to a better society.
A good government implies two things; first, fidelity to the objects of the government; secondly, a knowledge of the means, by which those objects can be best attained.
A good government is one with many information channels, those that give real-time information.
The government that governs best, governs best!
There is no reason why government should not be as efficient as any good business.
Ideas, not ideology. Voters want a government that works.
If I'm a CEO, I want to be in a place where the government works.
Good government is an empire of laws.
It is necessary to have party organization if we are to have effective and efficient government.
Strong government doesn't mean simply military power or an efficient intelligence apparatus. Instead, it should mean effective, fair administration - in other words, 'good governance.'
To me, technology was a means to an end to achieve the social justice goals, stronger democracy and more effective government that is the aim of what I do.
