Supplementary Reading
What Is Good Government?[4]
Good government is democratic，honest，and able.
Good Government Is Democratic．Democracy is good government.A massive and ongoing study，begun in the 1970s，of citizens in seventy-two countries on six continents finds that“the basic ideas of democracy are virtually universally accepted around the world，”regardless of culture，and that these ideas are“viewed as the only game in town”，even by the residents of dictatorship.
Good Government Is Uncorrupted．Aside from a few intellectuals who mud-wrestle on the slippery slope of“efficient grease”，everyone knows this.Majorities of citizens in thirty-four out of forty-seven countries on five continents，or nearly threequarters of the nations surveyed，think that“corrupt political leaders”are their top national problem.Globally，the leading“very big problem”，out of eleven possible problems ranging from AIDSto crime，is corrupt political leaders.
What the planet's peoples viscerally understand is that one can have neither prosperity nor democracy unless there is first honest government.
Although，as we have detailed uncorrupted government seems to be essential if an economy is to develop，democratic government is not.No political system has a lock on economic acuity.Democracies have made dumb economic decisions，and dictatorships have made adroit ones.
Honest government，however，does seem to be a prerequisite for democratic government.Where there is honest government，there also is vibrant democracy—that is，large numbers of citizens voting repeatedly in competitive elections.The stirring，mass revolutions—from Kiev to Kyrgyzstan，from Beirut to Budapest，from Cairo to Tripoli invariably demand two reforms of government:honesty and democracy.Whether consciously or subliminally，humanity comprehends that honest government is inseparable from democratic government.
Good Government Is Able．There is a third component of good government:competence.(https://www.daowen.com)
Just as honest government seems to be a needed first phase before prosperity and democracy can emerge，it also appears that uncorrupted government is essential to competent democratic government.In other words，the position long trumpeted by some political scientists that political machines“work”—that is，they provide services more efficiently than reformed governments can—does not hold up empirically.An analysis of surveys conducted in sixteen“mature and newly established democracies around the globe”found that corruption positively correlates with“more negative”popular evaluations of the political system and“lower levels of trust in civil servants”，both of which are necessary if democratic governments are to effectively implement public policy.
As with democratic and uncorrupted government，well-managed government enhances the daily lives of people.It is at last dawning on scholars and policymakers that good governments need not necessarily be big，but they must be strong，supple，and able.Conversely，the price of weak，brittle，and clumsy government can be steep.
【注释】
[1]Source:Excerpt from David H.Rosenbloom，et al.eds.，Public Administration:Understanding Management，Politics，and Law in the Public Sector(5th Edition)，New York:The McGraw-Hill Companies，Inc.，2002，pp.4-40.
[2]Broadly speaking，public goods are goods，such as nuclear defense or lighthouses，that individuals cannot be excluded from enjoying，that are not exhausted or significantly diminished as more individuals use them，and for which individuals do not compete.Because their cost is usually too much and it is impossible to provide such goods to customers only，individuals lack the incentive to provide or purchase the goods.Much public sector activity is addressed to the production and maintenance of public goods and quasi-public goods，for example，roads，public welfare and public education.
[3]The term stands for the value of fundamental fairness and is viewed as requiring procedures designed to protect individuals from malicious，arbitrary，erroneous，or capricious unconstitutional deprivation of life，liberty，or property at the hands of government.
[4]Source:Henry，Nicholas，Public Administration and Public Affairs(11th Edition)，New York:Pearson Education，Inc.，2010，pp.2-3.