Abstract
In many instances the remit of local government is in discord with its legitimate mandate as prescribed under natural law philosophy. The discord is due both to local government exceeding its legitimate mandate in some areas, and neglecting important functions elsewhere. When local government exceeds its legitimate mandate the dignity of persons and persons in association is diminished. When it fails to perform functions that rightly should be assigned to it, then the common good suffers. The Principle of Subsidiarity provides important guidance on how to balance dignity with the common good and thus avoid dangerous concentrations in power and competence. In this chapter I first provide a little more detail on the dangers posed to society and the person when the principle is neglected. I then make a case for divestment of functions where local government has exceeded its legitimate mandate. Following this I make a case for greater decentralisation of other government functions and hence an extension of the remit for many local government systems. Thereafter I consider the provision of education as an example of how implementation of the Principle of Subsidiarity might be expected to lead to better outcomes. I conclude the chapter with a discussion on the importance of a complementary reform agenda to resist the inevitable efforts of ideologues and special interest groups who will always be tempted to adjust the remit of local government to seek their interests rather than the long-run interests of the people.
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- 1.
Some say back to Plato, but I am unconvinced on this point—not least because the dramaturgical method of his exposition often makes it hard to know what Plato himself thought on a range of matters.
- 2.
The golden mean was the idea that the best character was to practice the middle path between deficiencies and excess in given traits. For instance, in the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle tells us that liberality is the mean between prodigality and meanness.
- 3.
Indeed, as I explicated in Chapter 3, citizens in this current day and age tend to view government more in terms akin to Santa Claus, than in terms of a parent. If citizens must have a perverted conception of government then I would much prefer that it be a parental one, than a Santa Clause illusion. When one receives from a parent one at least understands that the parent has had to sacrifice to provide the munera, and one feels obligated to respond with love and gratitude. However, when one perceives of government in terms of a Santa Claus conception there is no recognition of sacrifice, nor gratitude, nor desire to reciprocate in any way.
- 4.
Although a well-ordered society is indeed an end.
- 5.
I personally know of two very sad situations where the well-meaning intent of social welfare has all but eradicated human dignity. The first is a person on a disability pension for alcoholism—he uses the money provided to him by government welfare agencies to buy alcohol and run a backyard distillery. The second is on a disability pension for obesity—he uses the money, along with additional funds for home care, to facilitate the purchase of vast quantities of unhealthy food. Both perfectly fine people who have had their struggles exacerbated by the misguided ‘help’ of the welfare state, received sans moral counselling and reciprocal responsibility. Indeed, I don’t believe either of these people would have chosen this state of dependency and their path in life from behind the well-known Rawlsian veil.
- 6.
For years I have volunteered at aged care centres to perform music, and my wife has worked in the sector for almost as long—so I am quite sure that whilst this is a generalisation, it is sadly often true.
- 7.
My former local government—Uralla Shire—runs an aged care facility. In the 2017 financial year it recorded a loss of $29,000 in an operation turning over $3.1 million from $20.5 million in assets. Not a huge annual loss, but one that comes on the back of a series of significant donations by the 2,982 ratepayers in the area.
- 8.
I once invited an entire senate committee charged with investigating regional infrastructure backlogs to come and visit me and see what life was like with dirt roads, no potable water, unreliable power, but predictably no-one bothered to take up my offer.
- 9.
Indeed, 82 percent of the Australian Public Service are located in Australia’s six largest cities, a figure that has not changed in seven years despite the announcement of a policy of decentralisation in 2017 (Mannheim 2019).
- 10.
Currently (in 2019) this is estimated according to ABS household census data and student’s addresses, not the actual wealth and income of parents.
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Drew, J. (2020). The Ideal Remit of Local Government. In: Reforming Local Government. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6503-8_7
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