Archive for category Corporate Accountabilities

Without public trust in authorities, society doesn’t work properly.

The argument for requiring full and fair public explanation by authorities on how they are carrying out their responsibilities is straight-forward: If authorities are required to explain publicly, fully and fairly, before taking their decisions:

1. what specific outcomes they intend to bring about, for whom, and why,
2. the performance standards they intend for themselves and those they oversee, 

their decision-making will be fairer for all those who would be significantly affected by their decisions.

This is because authorities’ explanations required before the fact can be publicly evaluated by knowledgeable organizations for their fairness and completeness. This public assessment will lead to greater or lower public trust in the authority. Thus the requirement for public explanation produces a self-regulating influence that increases decision fairness and raises valid citizen trust in the authority.

But it will take citizens themselves to bring about public accounting to a standard of explanation that citizens are entitled to see met. Since the obligation of authorities to give full and fair public accountings is unassailable, there is no barrier to citizens forming accountability groups on important issues and holding their elected representatives publicly to account for making the explanation requirement the law.

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