The Broken Contract: Making Our Democracies Accountable, Representative, and Less Wasteful

by Saqib Iqbal Qureshi

A democracy should reflect the views of its citizens and offer a direct connection between government and those it serves. So why, more than ever, does it seem as if our government exists in its own bubble, detached from us?In reality, our democracy is not performing as it should, which has left us fed up with a system we no longer trust. Moreover, we lack a mechanism to fix what’s broken, because there is no incentive for politicians and civil servants to make government more accountable, efficient, and representative.Saqib Iqbal Qureshi is calling on his fellow citizens to assert their voice in the dialogue of democracy. In The Broken Contract, he puts forth solutions—many involving easy-to-implement technologies. It’s up to us to turn the ship around. If you’re looking for the best way to start a conversation with your elected and unelected officials, this is the book you need.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Government

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 4, 2020

Reviews

[Elina Kuusio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating, it did really open my eyes in terms of realising what we can learn from the private sector in order to make institutions more accountable and effective. The book gives you a good overview of some of the fundamental flaws of democracies, and how Western societies are struggling to cope with these due to their reliance on heavily bureaucratic institutions. As a supporter of a strong public sector, this book made me re-evaluate some of my beliefs and really rethink the importance of accountability as well as the severe damage bad governance can do. The Broken Contract is definitely worth a read and I think it's a great resource for anyone working in the public sector!

[Omar Altalib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

I liked how the author compares many English speaking democracies. His writing style is lucid, easy to follow and logical.
What I did not like about the book is the lack of clarity regarding the level of analysis. It somehow jumps from the local to the national to the regional to arenas in between. Overall, an excellent effort!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic breakdown of some of the main challenges we faced in OECD countries related to governance. The author offers a concrete suggestion on how to improve modern bureaucracies.

[Terry L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic introduction to some of the major challenges of governance we see around the world these days and the urgent need for reform.

[Asim Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, it's given the reader great new insights on the flaws of democracy and how best, we as a public can engage in conversations with elected and unelected officials.

[Mizanur Choudhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the book and spot on analysis and important read for all!

[Karlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Broken Contract is a refreshing read- touching on all the reasons why you may feel discouraged about your government (UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia being the main focus- neoliberal democracies). What makes this book different is, there are actual proposed solutions to a lot of problems including, waste, inefficiency, representation etc. that are reasonable and would not require some kind of anarchistic overhaul of the 'system'. Qureshi has a knack for looking at an issue and turning it on its head. There were so many good points made throughout the book that I never would have thought of but that seem simple, reasonable and could actually be tangible.

This is not some idealistic hypothetical read that makes change seem daunting and far fetched. Nor is it one that just highlights all the problems with no solutions. Between the amusing (and shocking) statistics and facts about what our governments have spent money on; their delays; their costs; their waste-- there are ideas for how we can improve. Qureshi hit a home run in comparing the private versus public sectors (I will not spoil this for you-- but it's a very compelling argument).

Humorous, compelling, thought provoking, and left me wondering why the heck we haven't thought to make these changes already! Also, a good launch point from which to further discussion, ideas and keep this dialogue going!

[Kara]

Some solutions proposed:
1. An agency that monitors government waste and provides simple and clear reports using ad or communications techniques.
2. Notated and shared calendars that provide accountability about what government workers do.
3. Term limits (brief mention of the problem that this would allow lobbyists to develop the institutional knowledge over government workers)
4. Citizen responsibility to fill out surveys or face fines
5. 2% mandatory firings for underperformers/rewards for high performers

[Gustavo Eulalio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically selling privatization as the solution for public sector "incompetence".