Can Government Do Anything Right?

by Alasdair Roberts

Across the Western world, people are angry about the inability of government to perform basic functions competently. With widespread evidence of policy failures at home and ill-conceived wars and interventions abroad, it is hardly surprising that politicians are distrusted and government is derided as a sprawling, wasteful mess. But what exactly is government supposed to do, and is the track record of Western governments really so awful? In this compelling book, leading scholar of public policy and management, Alasdair Roberts, explores what government does well and what it does badly. Political leaders, he explains, have always been obliged to wrestle with shifting circumstances and contending priorities, making the job of governing extraordinarily difficult. The performance of western democracies in recent decades is, admittedly, far from perfect but - as Roberts ably shows - it is also much better than you might think.

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2018

About the author

Alasdair Roberts is a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Not mad at it! Was so short, I almost feel like it’s cheating to add it to my reading challenge.
(Read for my first year politics class.)

[Luke Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I had to read this book for school, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is so informative about the history of governments, leadership, economies, and everything in between. You will definitely learn a lot from this book.

Definitely recommend if you ever wonder how a government works or why the government does things the way it does.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

TL;DR: governance is extremely difficult and screwing things up is very easy.