Citizens

Nowhere is the gap between intention and reality more evident than in the relationship between government and citizens. The meta-problem process can help shrink that gap.

 

Government, whether federal, regional, state or local, exists to make citizens’ lives better. Why does it disappoint so often?

 

It’s a fair bet that someone you know has suffered the consequences of this misalignment, when a policy intended to make life better for a group of citizens ends up failing or worse, damaging the lives of the people it was supposed to help.

 

Sometimes that’s because the government picked the wrong problem to solve, or did not consider the policy’s knock-on effects with enough rigor. Other times it’s because the machinery that’s supposed to deliver the benefit ends up thwarting (or distorting) the outcome.

 

Let’s take the national issue of penal reform. Holding people in prison is costly both for the individual and for society. In addition, in our current system about 70% of released prisoners re-offend within five years. Addressing those problems means deciding what we think is the purpose of imprisonment (punishment or redemption?) all the way through to what support does a released prisoner need to prevent re-offending?

 

At a local level, let’s take the issue of zoning. Zoning is a set of policies that allow a city to decide what’s allowed where in a city. This tool allows a city to facilitate access to good schools, jobs, or other cultural or recreational opportunities. It also sets rules that influence how many people are affected by pollution and can dramatically change traffic patterns, the costs of providing infrastructure, or the costs of living in the city. A city is full of people and businesses with different needs and in different circumstances, so the question of what zoning rules to set allows the government to react to the layers of tradeoffs associated with trying to balance those needs and desires.

 

Engaged citizens can use the meta-problem process to pick the best problems for government to address with public resources, and to think through the sequence of additional problems that will need to be solved in order to deliver the desired outcomes.

 

As with volunteering, the first problem is where to focus your energy and resources (at what level, on what issue and with what skills). Your personal values and where you are in your life will guide your initial choices.

 

If you have questions or suggestions for how you can use the meta-problem to help your government serve citizens, click on "Contact" and send them my way.