Abuse of Faith in Governance: Mystery of the Unasked Question

Explores the dependence of governors and governed on faith and trust in the governance process.

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Abuse of Faith in Governance
Varieties of crises of faith in governance (A)
Varieties of crises of faith in governance (B)
Comparability of cases
Evidence management to avoid challenge and change
Professional complicity, challenge to honourability, loss of credibility
Irresponsibility -- whilst obeying rules and orders
Complicity of governance in a collective fantasy: Emperor's New Clothes
Misleadership?
The "unsaid" -- and the associated twisted logic
The mystery of the "unasked question"
"Putting the Question"
Neglected systemic questions
The unasked question in relation to increasing population?
Conclusion
References

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-- Faith in declarations of threat | Faith-based governance | Faith in the financial system
-- Faith in economic expertise | Faith in intelligence services | Faith in military services
-- Faith in police and security services | -- Faith in medicine
-- Faith in administration, project management and budgetary processes
-- Faith in statistics | Faith in democratic and due processes | Faith in system of justice
-- Faith in human rights | Faith in Members of Parliament | Faith in the diplomatic corps
-- Faith in the "international community" | Faith in pledges of development aid and debt relief
-- in multinational corporations | Faith in business | Faith in technology
-- Faith in collective intelligence | Faith in leadership | Faith in internet and web services




-- Faith-centered question | Discipline-centered question | Institution-centered question
-- Sectoral-centered question | Religion-centered question | Problem-centered question
-- WH-questions

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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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