Issue 50 求修改

zhanghaolin

50. Government officials should rely on their own judgment rather than unquestioningly carry out the will of the people they serve.

(相似题目：86、115)

The following argument has an extremely long history: whether the elected government should follow the general will, or in other words: the public opinion strictly or should make decision based on their own experiences and judgment. In my point of view, both opinions have not only rationalities but also defects. Only by combining them appropriately and reasonably can the country have a healthy and robust political system.

Apparently, elected leaders in the government always are outstanding individuals from the society. They often have high wisdom, acute judgment, profound knowledge and long view, which make it easier for them to make the right decision for citizens. For example, during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt leaded the government to conduct the New Deal even though there is much opposition. The New Deal helped America recovery from the depression and wins the world war two. Furthermore, since French revolution, many famous thinkers, such as Le Bon, Tocqueville and Burke, have put forward the concept about the danger of the mass crowd. They believed that because of the flaws in human nature, for example: crowd mentality or nearsightedness, the public opinions are not always correct. When the general will is wrong plus the power mass crowd, if the government insists to follow the public opinions, it only leads the country march to wrong place. To sum up, the government officials have responsibilities to make decision based on their own judgment.

Aside from the foregoing opinion, in most cases, the government should follow the public opinions. If the government officials always make decisions relying on their own judgment, they will have the risk of away from the reality and incurring oppositions. After all, in almost all kinds of democratic theories, reflecting and following the general will is the key point to the elected government. Following the general will not only fulfills the needs of the public, but also is one of important sources of the legitimacy of governing. Moreover, following the general will can reduce the number of corruption and favoritism. These opinions were reflected from the Pericles reformation to American constitutional convention.

In summary, making decision based on its judgment and following the general will are two sides of the government. They should be reasonably mixed up and used appropriately in one government. For example, when dealing with the problems of military or security, following the general will is neither efficient nor effective. But when coming to the problems of health care reformation or educational reformation, making the decisions totally based on the officials’ own judgment is apparently improper. In addition, the government officials should enhance communication with the public and let the public knows their opinions and advisements to the general will, which combines the advantages of the general will and the high wisdom of officials and makes it easier for the government to win support and understanding from the public.

1.政治官员通常是杰出的个人the outstanding individuals in the society，他们通常有着较高的学识high wisdom，敏锐的判断力acute judgment，长远的目光long view，所以他们更能作出正确的决定。如：A）罗斯福（F. D. Roosevelt）新政（New deal），美国recovery from the Depression and World War II。Sometimes，it is hard to get consensus over a controversial issue, especially in the reformation, in which the benefits of some people must be touched and the counterviews come forth.这时，领导就要有自己的主见与勇气，将改革进行进行到底，只有经过了一定的时间，人们才能理解领导者的决策的正确。

2.民选政府（elected government）需要服从民众的意愿，无论其观点和目标如何，否则这也就与选举的目的背道而驰（run counter to）。服从民意既是满足民众所需，也是民选政府执政合法性（governing legitimacy）的来源。无论是哪一种民主理论（democratic theory），都强调了这一种观点（this point of view）的重要性。从古希腊的伯里克利改革（Pericles reformation）到美国的制宪会议（American constitutional convention）都反映出了遵守民意的重要性。

3.at the same time但是，一个人的能力是有限的，不能保证政治家做出的决策总是对的。人民相对而言处在社会的底层，更清楚的了解人民的真正的需求。作为领导着，应该市场保持与群众的联系，及时了解他们的建议，加以思考，作为自己判断的依据，但不是被其左右。相反如果，总是忽略人民意愿与需要，可能会使决策脱离现实意义，进而导致人民的反对。

普渡哥

例子举的很好，作者的引用和记忆能力都很强。