Weekly Blog - 24 April 2023 - Power Shift Policies
Policies that shift power
Organisations like Arise that campaign for solutions to the world’s problems are sometimes challenged that the polices they propose are not being enacted because the underlying systems of power protect vested interests, and therefore prevent otherwise sensible ideas from being implemented. 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 are all about shifting the balance of power away from privileged elites, and spreading it much more widely across society. If implemented, such power shift policies can help make other changes more likely to happen.
Democracy, human rights and good governance
The standards that Arise advocates on democracy, human rights and good governance are all about shifting regimes from dictatorship to democracy and from poor to good governance. Their focus is entirely on shifting power. In particular, a number of key policies really push into this. At a fundamental level, governments should be democratic. There should be an active parliament in every nation. Governments should be elected through proportional representation, single transferable vote or other such electoral systems rather than ‘first past the post’. This helps to ensure fairer more effective government, and that every person’s vote really does count and can have influence, and therefore politicians have to reach out to every community. In countries consisting of several large different ethnic and religious communities, constitutions should be structured in such a way that those seeking office have to reach out across ethnic and religious lines to be successful, rather than just appeal to their own community. In addition, major political parties should be required to only spend the same amount on elections, in practice limiting it to the amount the poorest party can afford, and hugely restricting the distorting effect big party donors can have on democracy.
Once in power, checks and balances should be in place to ensure there is separation of the legislative, executive and judicial arms of government. There should also be a separation of the police and military, and both should stay out of politics and under civilian authority. There must be a highly professional, competent, educated and committed civil service, with a professional culture of neutrality and service to the elected government of the day. There should be clear water between the state and the private sector through various mechanisms, including a ban on businesses making donations to political parties, limiting the amount any private individual can give, and requiring those serving in government not to be major shareholders in, or on the board of, any company. Governments should devolve decisions to the lowest possible appropriate level. They should model transparency, enable public consultation and involvement in decision-making, and establish an independent national audit office and ombudsmen for different sectors. All government systems and bureaucracy should periodically be reformed and updated to keep them relevant and accountable. Internationally, where necessary governments should work together to reform global organisations like the UN and regional institutions like the European or African Unions to make them more effective and accountable.
Governments can help shift power within society by ensuring there is a free press, but one that is open to prosecution for slander and false accusation, and requires the same amount and level of coverage to be given to retracting a false story as was given to initially airing it, thus ensuring both governments and the media are accountable. They should also ensure the same laws are applied to online social media platforms, so genuine freedom of expression is protected, but both the platforms and their users can be prosecuted for slander, false accusation, invasion of privacy, and threats and abuse. In the courts, governments should legislate to require parties in a legal dispute to only spend the same amount on legal fees, in practice limiting it to the amount the poorest party can afford. They should also provide a much more rapid legal process. As a result power is shifted in the legal system from the current situation, where the richest who can afford more legal fees and a prolonged legal battle have better access to justice, to a situation where a person’s level of wealth has no influence on their access to justice. It should also provide much faster, rather than chronically delayed, justice. 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, and fundamentally shift power dynamics in a positive way (Arise Manifesto, pg 79 – 85, 102 – 108).
Global economic development
Turning to look at reducing poverty, there is again much that national governments, and the international community, can do to shift power and help nations develop. The whole process of supporting international development fundamentally shifts global power, lifting up low income and middle income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America so they become much more economically and politically powerful, and are able to work alongside and compete with developed nations in Europe, North America and Australasia on an equal footing. In particular, a number of key policies really support this power shift. Governments should formalise with full legal deeds the ownership of the land by the communities that dwell upon it, especially indigenous communities, a huge issue of injustice and lack of power in many developing countries. They should also formalise the informal sector, again bringing the vast informal economy in the developing world into the formal economy, with all the rights and legal protections that entails. Governments should protect worker rights and enhance their power by allowing, establishing and supporting trade unions. They can shift power in the business world by restricting the amount of shares any one interest can hold in a company, preventing monopolies and cartels, and supporting the development of more cooperatives and employee-owned companies. These and many other similar policies can help nations to shift power as they grow strong and fair economies (Arise Manifesto, pg 142 – 147, 174 – 190).
The international community can support this process of power shifting in economic development by reforming 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. They can further support this by not forcing 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. They 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. The international community should ban future irresponsible lending to prevent future debt crises, and create an international bankruptcy mechanism to allow nations crippled with historic unpayable debt to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. All of these policies and many more would help tip the balance of power towards developing countries and support them as they develop (Arise Manifesto, pg 190 – 194).
Tax and social spending
Turning to look at taxation and social spending, again by definition all the policies Arise advocates for in this area redistribute money (and therefore power) from the richest to the poorest, and create opportunities that lift up and support those at the bottom of society. In particular governments should ensure that all taxation is progressive, so the poorest pay least and the richest most. They should tax capital and unearned inherited wealth rather than earned income, as far as possible, again redistributing power and preventing a new financial aristocracy from emerging. They should use this funding to provide basic services such as good education and healthcare for all citizens, generous unemployment and low-income benefits, incapacity benefits, pensions and similar social protection payments to those who need them (Arise Manifesto, pg 147 – 150, 195 – 199).
Again, the international community can support nations, especially developing nations, and shift power as they do this. Every nation should practice complete global tax transparency by signing up to, implementing and significantly strengthening the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement and its Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. They should also reduce the opportunities for multinational companies to avoid tax, by signing up to, implementing and significantly strengthening the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy. Most importunately they should negotiate a new global tax and social spending agreement that: 1) prevents the shifting of money out of countries where people are resident or companies are operating into ‘tax havens’, and; 2) commits every nation to collect in tax, and spend through government spending, an annual amount equivalent to at least 45% of the national economy, one third from income taxes (income tax, national insurance etc.), one third from wealth taxes (land tax, inheritance tax, council tax, wealth tax etc.) and one third from other taxes (corporation taxes, taxes on goods and services etc.). As part of this agreement, income and wealth taxes must be significantly progressive so the poorest pay less and the richest more. Taxes on income and on returns from wealth should be set at the same level. Various specific types of income, wealth and other taxes and levels should be negotiated and standardised between nations. At least two thirds of this income should be spent on healthcare, education and social protection (pensions, benefits etc.). The other third to be spent on other government functions. All national governments should implement this international agreement in their countries. These and other similar policies all use taxation and social spending at both a national and international level to fundamentally shift power (Arise Manifesto, pg 199 – 204).
People power … Arise
There are therefore multiple policies across the areas of social justice, development and the environment, that if implemented would significantly shift power dynamics and make other changes more possible. Of course, for governments to implement even these power shift policies they need to feel pressure from voters and wider society. Christians have always played a huge part in such public pressure and driven major improvements in democracy, human rights, social justice, reducing poverty and protecting the environment around the world throughout history as a result (The Arise Manifesto, pg 283 – 303). That is what Arise is all about, helping Christian to put their faith into action, speak out and hold governments to account all around the world. If you aren’t already part of the Arise movement, why don’t you sign up today, join us and together let’s achieve a real power shift.
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.
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