Weekly Blog - 13 February 2023 - Policies that make a Difference but Don't Cost
Policies that make a difference but don’t cost
Organisations like Arise that campaign and suggest policy solutions to the world’s challenges are often accused by governments of just asking for more and more public spending to be thrown at every problem. The argument runs that governments only have a limited amount of money to spend, they can’t do everything, and have to make tough choices about where to spend limited public funds. Therefore, this week’s Arise blog takes a look at policy proposals in the Arise Manifesto, (our big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical Christian vision for a better world) which can make a huge difference in the world, but don’t require more spending.
Standards for democracy, human rights and good governance
A lot of the basic policies and standards needed for democracy, human rights and good governance in nations, are essentially cost neutral, and a matter of principles, laws and a balance of powers and accountability between institutions. For example, governments should administer the law justly, ensuring full equality for all before the law in all aspects of life. Suspects should be treated as innocent until proven guilty. There should be no bribery or corruption. The law should be based on the fundamental principles of human rights. Nations should be democratic, with an active parliament, competent civil service, and separate legislative, executive and judicial arms of government. The police and military should be separate, and both should be under civilian governmental control, and stay out of politics. There should be clear water between the state and the private sector, and decisions should be devolved to the lowest possible level of government. Governments should model transparency and ensure a free press. These and many other similar policies for ensuring democracy, human rights and good governance would make a transformational difference to many nations if fully applied, whilst not costing extra money (Arise Manifesto, pg 79 – 85, 102 – 108).
Improving democracy, human rights and good governance through pressure from outside of nations
When it comes to how the international community can ensure the above standards for democracy, human rights and good governance are applied in every country around the world, there are again many highly effective policies that don’t cost, that can be used. Sustained diplomatic pressure is powerful and effective. Targeted sanctions and travel bans which impact the rulers of unjust regimes can be imposed. The international community can also work together to clearly and publicly condemn violations of democratic, human rights and good governance standards in the eyes of the world, and of history. Laws can be passed preventing companies registered in a county from making bribes either at home or in their operations abroad, and to make legitimate payments completely transparent. Assets which have been stolen and taken abroad can be recovered and returned to the people. Nations can sign and implement the Arms Trade Treaty, and pass, uphold, publicise and strengthen further international democratic, human rights and good governance norm setting standards and agreements. These and many other similar policies for improving democracy, human rights and good governance from outside of nations would hugely improve situations in many nations if fully applied, without costing extra money (Arise Manifesto, pg 119 – 124).
Maintaining international peace and preventing major conflicts from emerging
Turning to the area of conflict, there is again much that nations can do to maintain international peace and prevent major conflicts from emerging without requiring any additional spending. Nations should pursue regular and cordial diplomatic communication, relations, dialogue and meetings (including at the highest levels), especially between powerful nations, to keep nations talking, no matter how difficult situations may become. Nations should also work to continually build a broad consensus around shared values, especially between powerful nations, on what good governance, peaceful co-existence, democracy and human rights looks like. Nations can further foster stability by proactively supporting and constructively engaging with international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) and regional institutions like the European Union (EU). Such institutions are critical international stabilisation mechanisms. They should also reform these international and regional institutions where necessary to make them more effective and accountable. All nations should sign and ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, and work towards safely reducing existing stockpiles through negotiated agreements with independent verification. Nations should similarly, uphold, publicise and strengthen international humanitarian law on warfare and other norm setting standards and agreements. Countries should avoid acting in an arrogant, high-handed or triumphalist fashion, and should avoid putting other nations in a position where they feel humiliated. Such actions are likely to inflame resentment and tensions. Countries should watch out for significant tensions that are emerging between nations (especially powerful ones) and work proactively through peaceful and diplomatic means to de-escalate them before they become full-blown conflicts, as a matter of high priority. Once again, these and many other similar policies for maintaining international peace and preventing major conflicts from emerging would make a transformational difference if fully applied, whilst not costing extra money (Arise Manifesto, pg 124 – 129).
Supporting nations to develop
Turning to look at reducing poverty, there is again much that the international community can do to make a major difference for developing nations without incurring extra cost. Developed nations should change policy and not force economic liberalisation or any other ideological model onto developing nations, either overtly through the multinational system or covertly through technical advice and support, but allow them the freedom to choose the economic path that works for them. As part of this, they should reform the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to give developing countries maximum freedom to pursue protectionist and other policies in the early stages of their economic development. The international community should also scrap or significantly weaken patent law and intellectual property rights (except in the creative industries), including reforming the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) and relevant WTO rules, to support the transfer of technology and ideas to developing countries. Developed countries should prevent future irresponsible leading to developing nations that leads to unsustainable debt. They should also provide tougher regulation of the global financial sector to reduce the likelihood of future global economic shocks, and work well to spot and manage global economic shocks when they do occur. Nations should practice complete global tax transparency, and should also support private financial flows for development such as charitable giving through NGOs; remittances from diaspora communities; philanthropy and social investment. All such policies, and many others, are essentially cost free, but would hugely update the international financial and economic system to make it easier for poorer nations to develop and lift themselves permanently out of poverty (Arise Manifesto, pg 190 – 194, 199 – 204).
Clean energy
When it comes to the environment, there is again much that the international community can do to make a transformational difference in shifting rapidly from polluting fossil fuels to clean energy, without incurring extra cost. For a start the world needs to implement and significantly strengthen the Paris Agreement on climate change in order to set a rapid global path to ban all greenhouse gas emitting forms of energy and move to 100% clean energy by 2030 at the latest (with tough intermediate targets). Governments should similarly ban the construction of new cars, trucks, lorries and trains which use fossil fuels, since electric alternatives are already available, rapidly phase out existing fossil fuel vehicles, and extend this ban to flights and shipping as soon as technology allows. Governments should also require all new buildings to be heated or cooled using renewable energy. Such legislation would rapidly drive huge amounts of private sector (rather than public sector) investment towards clean renewable energy, rapidly increasing its scale and effectiveness, and significantly reducing the cost. In addition, maximum possible energy efficiency and emissions standards should be applied across all sectors to minimise waste, leakage and the amount of power used. Again, all such policies, and many others, are essentially cost free, but would rapidly speed up the transition out of dirty, polluting fossil fuels and into 100% clean, renewable energy (Arise Manifesto, pg 241 – 251)
Circular economy
A similar approach can be taken for wider environmental issues beyond climate change, where moving to a circular economy model is essential. Governments should ban the use of polluting chemicals which are environmentally damaging in agricultural and manufacturing processes. They should also ban the production of any biosphere resource (fishing, agriculture, hunting, logging, fresh water etc.) in ways which are not properly managed and replenished, so that more is not taken out than put back in. In addition, they should ban all further human settlement and expansion into currently wild lands, and ban the manufacture of products that can’t be completely recycled continuously or safely returned to the natural environment. Another area where governments should legislate would be to ban the dumping of waste in landfills or at sea and require 100% recycling or breaking products down safely and returning them to the natural environment instead, and to require all biosphere waste to be composted. They should extend producer responsibility to make businesses responsible for the safe collection and recycling of the packaging they use for their products, and of the products themselves at the end of their life. Such legislation would again rapidly drive huge amounts of private sector (rather than public sector) investment towards sustainable, circular economy alternatives. Once again, these and many other similar policies for shifting to a circular economy would make a transformational difference if fully applied, whilst not costing extra money (Arise Manifesto, pg 251 – 256).
Income raising policies
In addition to all these policies that can make the world a much more just, more peaceful, less poor, and more environmentally sustainable place, that don’t cost extra public money, there are even policies which can make the world a significantly better place whilst also raising more government income.
Strong and fair economy
All the lessons from the Bible and from history would indicate that developing strong and fair national economies is essential for reducing poverty. Such flourishing economies dramatically increase the wealth of the nation, and therefore the amount governments can gather for public spending through tax. Successful governments have developed a proactive and flexible national industrial and economic development strategy to create a diverse national economy that progressively moves up the value chain from agriculture to manufacturing to services to the knowledge economy, using whatever policies are most effective at each stage. Crucially, at each stage this has meant an economy that produces goods and services that domestic consumers want to buy, and also those that are popular internationally, and will boost exports. Instead of slavishly following the dogma of small-state, low-tax, free market fundamentalism, these strategies all saw a big role for the state, not in ‘picking winners’, but in working in partnership with the private sector to develop the right policies to enable the economy to thrive. This might mean creating industrial clusters and export zones; attracting stable, long-term investment; ensuring the market can provide loans and credit for those who need it; enforcing private property rights and contracts; or borrowing money to invest in developing the economy and therefore boosting income in the long term.
Effective governments in this area also attract and allow Transnational Companies to operate, but only on terms that extract maximum value in technology transfer and tax for the nation; they use tariffs, export bans and import bans to support the early-stage development of new sectors and domestic businesses; and encourage domestic savings, borrowing and investment via domestic banks and financial institutions, thus strengthening the national finances. Governments should also maintain macroeconomic stability; focus on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as the backbone to the economy; make it quick and easy to set up a new business; reduce and simplify red tape and bureaucracy in the daily running of a business; formalise the informal sector; and prevent monopolies. Such policies significantly boost the domestic economy without incurring additional cost (Arise Manifesto, pg 142 – 147, 174 – 190).
Effective taxation
Governments can further increase the finances they have available for public spending by making sure their tax systems are effective. This means applying a progressive sliding scale in tax, so the poorest pay least and the richest most. It also means taxing capital and unearned inherited wealth rather than earned income, as far as possible. Furthermore, governments should also tax socially undesirable activity and not socially desirable activity. This very much includes polluting fossil fuels and other environmentally damaging activities being taxed at much higher rates. Government can raise extra income by raising taxes in all these areas, and boost invaluable public spending. They can sign up to and implement international agreements to prevent tax havens and tax avoidance. Again, these policies and many others significantly boost the public finances, and reduce levels of extreme poverty and inequality, without incurring additional cost (Arise Manifesto, pg 195 – 204).
In conclusion then, whilst many of the things Arise and other organisations advocate for to make the world more socially just, less poor, more equal and more environmentally sustainable do require public spending, there is a huge amount that governments can do in all these areas to make a massive positive difference without costing more money. Indeed there are many other socially positive policies that actually boost the income that governments have to spend. We must not let governments hide behind the argument that there is only so much money they have, and they can’t afford to do the right thing. There are a huge range of options open to them.
Find out more
Find out more about how God is at work in the world, and the role we all have to play in that work, in the Arise Manifesto. This report is Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment. It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.
Found this blog online, or sent it by a friend? Sign up to receive weekly blogs from Arise directly.