Future-proofing Governance

Introduction

How can we as a population effectively address matters of public concern that impact society, the economy, and the environment on local and global scales? How can we drive positive change in these areas?

While education may not solve many immediate problems it can be argued that education is most crucial as it ultimately addresses issues like these at their source over the long term. Education empowers an individual to make rational, logical and moral decisions. Fear of the unknown often fuels negative traits such as racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Ignorance leads to harmful decisions, while education fosters holistic improvement. If everyone was highly educated on all subjects, they would all be capable of making the right decisions.

However, real change occurs when the populace drives it. Government is at the heart of enacting change, and the will of the people. At the moment, we have a system of governance that not only stifles change, but in some ways acts against it. What’s the use of an educated population if it cannot implement its enlightened decisions on local, national, and global scales?

The central focus of this study is the development of a comprehensive system of governance informed by key principles derived from software design and implementation. This approach has led to the identification of three fundamental "pillars of reform" that we propose as the foundation for a technologically enabled governance system. These pillars are:

1. Governance could be more adaptive
2. People could be better represented
3. Policy and law ideas could be tested and backed up with real evidence

These proposed reforms are inherently linked to three core concepts prevalent in software development:

1. Continuous Integration
2. Composition Over Inheritance
3. Data-Driven Decision Making

First, let's set some context.

The rise of mass information access

Technology has transformed how we access information, making knowledge more available to everyone through the internet, smartphones, and social media. This change has eliminated distance barriers, enabling people everywhere to reach educational resources, scientific studies, and global news. Access to this level of information empowers people, encouraging self-education and informed decision-making.

However, technology also allows for the spread of false information. The same platforms can circulate misinformation, conspiracy theories, and propaganda. Social media algorithms often highlight sensational content, creating echo chambers that reinforce existing beliefs and divide societies.

This spread of false information is a serious political threat, affecting elections and reducing trust in democratic institutions, as seen in the 2016 U.K. Brexit vote. Education is crucial in fighting this problem. Media literacy programs teach people to critically evaluate sources and identify bias, helping them resist misinformation.

Access to education has increased dramatically, with literacy rates at record highs and universities growing in both developed and developing countries. Mass education can equip millions with the skills needed to navigate a complex world, empowering them with critical thinking and specialised knowledge.

An educated population can tackle major global challenges, from climate change to social inequality. However, to fully realise this potential, we need a system of governance that supports and utilises the abilities of an educated citizenry.

The current system of government

Traditional systems of government, often characterised by hierarchical structures and centralised decision-making, are increasingly ill-suited to the demands of a modern civilization. These systems frequently struggle to incorporate the diverse perspectives and expertise that the population offers and can prevent fresh ideas and innovative solutions from being heard.

Bureaucratic inertia, vested interests, and outdated processes can stifle innovation and responsiveness within these traditional systems. Government agencies and officials may be resistant to change, preferring to maintain the status quo rather than embrace new methods or perspectives. This resistance can lead to a significant gap between government actions and the actual needs and desires of the public.

One significant limitation of the current political system is the infrequent opportunity for public input, typically limited to elections held every five years. This long gap between elections means that citizens have little influence over government actions during these periods. Moreover, if the government changes, it can often completely reverse the previous administration's long-term plans, preventing the realisation of their goals, even if they were beneficial ideas. This cyclical disruption hinders consistent progress and undermines the potential for long-term, effective governance.

The complexity of modern governance requires decision-makers who can understand and navigate a landscape of rapid technological advancement and interconnected global challenges. Issues such as climate change, cybersecurity, and global health crises demand informed, agile responses that traditional systems are often ill-equipped to provide. This necessity underscores the importance of involving educated individuals in governance processes.

Yet, current systems often fail to provide adequate avenues for such involvement, limiting the impact that individuals can have on policy and decision-making. Many educated citizens find it difficult to contribute meaningfully due to the barriers posed by outdated governance structures.

The unseen web of agendas and data transparency

One of the significant obstacles to realising the potential of an educated populace is the unseen web of agendas that often influences governmental decisions. Political, corporate, and ideological interests frequently shape policies in ways that are not transparent to the public. This lack of transparency can erode trust in government and hinder the ability of citizens to engage meaningfully in governance. When people cannot see the true motivations behind policies, they struggle to participate effectively in democratic processes.

Data transparency is critical in this context. Access to accurate, unbiased information allows citizens to make informed decisions and hold policy makers accountable. When information is freely available and reliable, people can better understand the issues at hand and contribute to solutions.

However, data is often manipulated or selectively presented to support specific agendas, complicating efforts to discern truth from misinformation.

To drive change effectively, there must be a commitment to transparency and open access to information. Policy makers and organisations need to provide clear, honest data so that citizens can trust the information they receive. This trust is essential for building an environment where people feel confident in their ability to influence governance.

Reforming governance

Reforming governance can happen in several areas:

1. Policy-based voting - People could be better represented. We could stop voting for parties and start voting for policies.

Political systems must be redesigned to ensure better representation and broader participation from individuals with diverse expertise. This means creating avenues for people from various professional backgrounds and disciplines to contribute meaningfully to policy-making and decision-making processes.

2. Continuous Consultation - Governance could be more adaptive. We could have a form of continuous public input to governance.

Governance must become more agile, able to react swiftly to change while still keeping long-term goals in sight. This balance ensures that immediate challenges are addressed without losing focus on overarching objectives that guide societal progress.

3. Data driven decisions - Policy and law ideas could be tested and backed up with real evidence. We could make data driven decisions in proposing policy and voting on it.

Transparency and accountability must be prioritised. This involves utilising the scientific method to propose new policies and laws, ensuring they are backed by data rather than rhetoric. By grounding decisions in evidence, policy makers can build trust and make more effective and sustainable choices, which in turn is passed on to those voting.

Further to all this, education systems must evolve to emphasise civic education and engagement, equipping individuals with the skills needed to actively participate in governance. By integrating these elements into curricula, societies can cultivate a generation of citizens who are not only knowledgeable but also committed to driving positive change.

To explore these principles further:

1. Policy-based voting

People could be better represented

The traditional voting system often forces individuals to accept a bundle of policies from a single party, even if they do not fully endorse all of them. This can be likened to the concept of inheritance in software development, where a subclass inherits characteristics from a parent class, thereby limiting customization.

Ignoring any sort of strategic voting, I have witnessed voters generally employing one of three strategies when choosing a party, which I will describe as: the personality view, the narrow view, or the utilitarian view. In the personality view, voters select a politician based on their personality, often influenced by religion, family or media portrayal, which can be misleading as the public persona may not reflect the politician’s true policies or capabilities. The narrow view involves focusing intensely on one issue and voting for the candidate who best represents their stance on that issue, while disregarding other policies. The utilitarian view entails evaluating the total number of policies that align with their views across different parties and voting for the one with the greatest overall alignment. Regardless of the method, voters must accept the entire party manifesto, leading to potential dissatisfaction with some of the policies they are compelled to endorse.

An alternative approach would be to allow voters to compose their own personal manifesto, selecting policies or experts individually. This method, akin to composition in software development, would enable voters to tailor their choices to reflect their specific interests and moral values, offering flexibility and customization. Individuals could support a diverse array of policies from different sources, creating a bespoke set of priorities.

This approach would enable a more nuanced and precise expression of voter preferences, potentially leading to greater satisfaction and representation in governance.

By adopting a compositional model, is it possible to create a more flexible and accurate system that better reflects individual voter interests and values?

2. Continuous Consultation

Governance could be more adaptive

Two plus decades ago, before the advent of ubiquitous, fast, and global internet, software distribution relied on physical media. Programmers would release the latest versions of their software on disks, which were then sent to distributors. These distributors would either sell the disks directly to consumers or fulfill mail orders. Once the consumers received the disks, they would install and use the software, often identifying bugs that had eluded the testing phase. Concurrently, new technologies and ideas would emerge, which the development team might want to incorporate into their software.

Upon release, the development team would immediately commence work on the next version, addressing bugs, enhancing features, and improving the user experience. This iterative process would span approximately a year, culminating in a new release. The updated version would then be distributed via the next batch of disks, and the cycle would begin anew with fresh bugs, features, and challenges.

This traditional approach is now considered outdated. Updates, fixes, and upgrades are delivered over the internet as soon as they are ready, embodying an agile and responsive methodology. This approach allows for immediate bug fixes and rapid deployment, obviating the need to wait for the next annual release.

Amazon releases new code into production around 100,000 times per day using this approach, this is a different world to releasing new code (on disks) every year.

In some respects, our system of government parallels this outdated model of software development. Governments promise to address issues identified during previous administrations and propose new initiatives. Campaigns promote these promises, akin to software advertisements. Elections determine the ruling party, which operates within a monolithic structure where voters must accept the entire party platform. Once in office, new problems and requirements emerge, driven not only by internal system failures but also by external, often unforeseen events, such as pandemics. The electorate must then wait until the next election cycle to address these issues and vote for further changes.

In modern software development, the rapid and agile delivery of updates is facilitated by a process known as Continuous Integration (CI). CI involves the ongoing integration of updates into the software and complete testing when any update is made. This is enabled by advancements in technology. This raises the question: what if we applied the principles of Continuous Integration to politics? How would continuous, incremental updates to governance look in practice? Could an adaptive system like this defend against long-term goal disruption (such as during administration changes), while also reacting better to unexpected external events such as wars or pandemics?

3. Data driven decisions

Policy and law ideas could be tested and backed up with real evidence

Building on the principles of Agile, I introduced the concept of Biomimetic Driven Development (BDD)...

Building on the principles of Agile, I introduced the concept of Biomimetic Driven Development (BDD) during a presentation at a hackathon. While Agile facilitates swift software development, BDD enhances the software's ability to adapt to its environment. This methodology integrates the core practices of Agile to minimize errors and expedite decision-making. However, it goes further by grounding all decisions in empirical data.

In BDD, visionary conjectures about user needs are minimized. Instead, the development process prioritizes features that are immediately demanded, based on data collected from various sources. This approach is inherently test-driven: hypotheses are rigorously tested with real data, and the outcomes are analyzed to validate or refute the hypotheses. The software evolves in a manner analogous to natural processes, though the "mutations" in code are deliberately guided by intelligent design to optimize the software's performance.

Currently, political decision-making often relies heavily on rhetoric. Political campaigns are frequently driven by emotional responses and manipulated statistics, as seen in events like Brexit. This reliance on emotional appeal and distorted data can obscure the truth and mislead the public.

A transformative approach would involve grounding all legislative, policy, and civil proposals in real data. Proposed changes would be tested using empirical methods, with results transparently presented to the public. This would allow voters to make informed decisions based on accurate, comprehensible data, rather than emotive rhetoric.

By adhering to the scientific method, policymakers could objectively assess the viability of their ideas. If the results align with their goals, they could then present the data to the public in a transparent manner, fostering a more informed and rational decision-making process. This shift towards full transparency and data-backed governance could mitigate the influence of manipulated statistics and emotional rhetoric, promoting a more reality-based political discourse.

Conclusion

The symbiotic relationship between education and governance reform is pivotal for driving meaningful societal progress. As we've explored, education empowers individuals with critical thinking skills, specialised knowledge, and the ability to make informed decisions. However, the full potential of an educated populace can only be realised when coupled with a governance system that actively leverages this collective wisdom.

Reforming governance is not just about changing political structures; it's about creating a responsive, transparent, and inclusive system that can effectively channel the insights and expertise of an educated citizenry. By implementing policy-based voting, continuous public input, and data-driven decision-making, we can create a governance framework that is both agile enough to address immediate challenges and visionary enough to pursue long-term societal goals.

This reformed system of governance would, in turn, strengthen our educational initiatives. It would prioritise civic education, fostering a new generation of engaged citizens who understand their role in shaping public policy. This virtuous cycle of improved education leading to better governance, and better governance supporting enhanced education, has the potential to accelerate positive change across all sectors of society.

In essence, by reforming governance to fully utilise the power of an educated population, we create a foundation for addressing complex global challenges, from climate change to social inequality. This synergy between education and governance reform is not just beneficial— it's essential for building a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous future for all.