ISSUE139. Claim: Major policy decisions should always be left to politicians and other government experts. Reason: Politicians and other government experts are more informed and thus have better judgment and perspective than do members of the general public.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim and the reasons on which that claim is based.
Essay:
Policy making is an essential process for the whole country since the well-being of the people and social orders are somehow dependent on whether the policy made is wise or not . We usually consider the policies, especially the major ones, should be made by the politicians and the experts, as the writer does. His reason is that politicians and government experts are more professional and better informed for a wise judgment than the populace. While I suppose there are some different situations should be taken into account, I agree with the writer’s point in a broad sphere and his reason. And I’d like to further develop his point. As the writer points out, the politicians and experts from the government are better informed and much more professional about how to deal with the national issues than the multitude. After all, their job is to settle different big problems around the nation. If they are fair-minded and whole-hearted to serve the public, these elite will definitely have a higher possibility to do a better job on policy making issue than the public, given the populace of myopia and not rationality usually. Besides, the decision making by a large group of people is usually of low efficiency, sometimes even leading to chaos without any suggestive conclusion. In the light of these facts, it is reasonable to make the professional politicians to make policy decisions instead of the multitude. Moreover, I’d like to mention that these politicians are selected by the populace via a democratic election, which means the people trust the politicians and empower them for making decision for them. When a politician is selected, it means that people are convinced about his ability and faith to serve the public, and therefore they should be responsible for their decision----to trust the man they select and rely on his decision. If the politicians fail their responsibility to make right decisions, fail their country and people, they should be punished by the laws. However, it is unreasonable for the public to select someone first, then doubt the politicians they elect and make decisions themselves. That is irresponsible of the populace. The politicians are believed capable of handling policy issues, but this does not mean they will never make mistakes and the public will always be wrong. In some situations, the truth is held by the majority. Sometimes, there will be conflicts of interests between the politicians, making their decisions not favorable to the people at best. Sometimes, the experts from the government can be too biased and obstinate to detect the real issues and make the right decisions. In comparison, the public may be clear-minded, therefore able to provide some suggestive points. That’s why the government is required to take the voice of the people for policy decision. After all, each policy is made to serve the people, and they have rights to participate in this process. In retrospect, I agree with the writer’s point that the politicians and experts of the government should take responsibility to make major policies instead of the populace, since they are professional and well informed. The people should also trust the politicians they elected for policy decision, since that is the responsibility of them. However, the voice of the people should be heard by the government for any policy decision considering the potential mistakes of the politicians and the public’s right to participate.