Weijers, D. M. (2018). The politics and public policies I hope for. Presented at the 3rd International Conference on Wellbeing and Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
Abstract
The Trump administration in the United States demonstrates the power that politics can have over public policy. The recent leadership struggles in Australian political parties, the personality-based nature of most popular political discourse, and the childish point-scoring between political parties within our parliament demonstrate some of the disappointing aspects of politics. The current political situation is depressing and potentially dangerous. Surely we can do better!? In the talk I set out a naïve ideal proposal for a richly democratic wellbeing-centred political-policy process. I do not dare to dream that it would ever be implemented. Nevertheless, thinking about a candidate “ideal” system may provide some motivation and direction for improving the current system.
