Labour Research (June 2002)

Reviews

Reviving democracy

Citizens at the heart of governance

Barry Knight, Hope Chigudu & Rajesh Tandon

Earthscan Publications Ltd, 214 pages, paperback, £15.95

These authors agree that there is a growing gulf between political institutions and their citizens, with the result that democracies worldwide are losing voters.

This book is based on a detailed study of the views of citizens in the 47 countries of the Commonwealth. For most of them, a "good society" meant fulfilment of basic needs, including "economic security", that is opportunities to work for reasonable pay; adequate services, including access to food, drinking water, shelter, education, sanitation and health; and freedom from war, crime, violence and drugs.

However, in 43 out of the 47 countries that took part in this study, the conditions of a good society were not met and disenchantment was widespread. In only four countries did a small majority of those questioned say that they lived in a good society; these were Mauritius, Malaysia, the Republic of Seychelles and Trinidad and Tobago.

This book ends by stressing the urgent need for citizens to participate in the governments of the future.


This information is copyright to the Labour Research Department (LRD) and may not be reproduced without the permission of the LRD.