Transparency: Difference between revisions
mNo edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
'''By disclosing non-editable transactional data from the inception of political or business organisations, new organisations become more trustworthy and efficient.''' | '''By disclosing non-editable transactional data from the inception of political or business organisations, new organisations become more trustworthy and efficient.''' | ||
To show you how this works, | To show you how this works, here's a quick thought experiment... Imagine you were given a ring which makes you invisible much like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings. ''What would you do?'' Would you anonymously rob a bank or help a homeless person? It's argued by Plato (where Tolkien got the original idea of LOTR from!) in one of his stories called ''[[The Ring of Gyges]]'' that the majority of people would rob the bank<ref>'''Plato's Republic''' - Laird, A. (2001). "Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic". ''Journal of Hellenic Studies''. '''121''': 12–29. doi:10.2307/631825. JSTOR 631825.</ref>. Plato's rationale for this was he saw humans as primarily selfish in nature, but you probably already know that!<ref>'''The Selfish Gene'''. Oxford ; Dawkins, Richard, 1941-. New York :Oxford University Press, 1989.</ref> ''However, what if we turn this thought experiment on its head?'' | ||
Imagine this time, instead of the ring hiding you from everyone, the ring shows everyone everything you do. ''Would you still get up to similar mischief?'' Or like what happens with CCTV, if you are watched or even just recorded the majority of people are unlikely to do wrong but actually do good. | Imagine this time, instead of the ring hiding you from everyone, the ring shows everyone everything you do. ''Would you still get up to similar mischief?'' Or like what happens with CCTV, if you are watched or even just recorded the majority of people are unlikely to do wrong but actually do good. | ||
Revision as of 04:10, 24 November 2022
By disclosing non-editable transactional data from the inception of political or business organisations, new organisations become more trustworthy and efficient.
To show you how this works, here's a quick thought experiment... Imagine you were given a ring which makes you invisible much like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings. What would you do? Would you anonymously rob a bank or help a homeless person? It's argued by Plato (where Tolkien got the original idea of LOTR from!) in one of his stories called The Ring of Gyges that the majority of people would rob the bank[1]. Plato's rationale for this was he saw humans as primarily selfish in nature, but you probably already know that![2] However, what if we turn this thought experiment on its head?
Imagine this time, instead of the ring hiding you from everyone, the ring shows everyone everything you do. Would you still get up to similar mischief? Or like what happens with CCTV, if you are watched or even just recorded the majority of people are unlikely to do wrong but actually do good.
This leads to the principle of Radical Transparency and it should be the minimum we expect from someone in political office. If someone is given the privilege of public office, they should be required to disclose all transactions by default. In Australia, this is done, but only to an extent. Data is published by the AEC, for political transparency, but in a poor format, and there is a glaring loophole, dark money can funnel in if the donations are below $9,000. If a mining company, gambling company or optician company want to have their priorities represented all they need to do is make a shell company which donates several $8,999 donations.
To change this is extremely difficult, like the protection of tax havens, there is a bevvy of highly funded lobbyist present when transparency laws are put through parliament. The only other way to do this is to lead by example. Transparency is the primary tenet of The Transparent Corporation.
References
- ↑ Plato's Republic - Laird, A. (2001). "Ringing the Changes on Gyges: Philosophy and the Formation of Fiction in Plato's Republic". Journal of Hellenic Studies. 121: 12–29. doi:10.2307/631825. JSTOR 631825.
- ↑ The Selfish Gene. Oxford ; Dawkins, Richard, 1941-. New York :Oxford University Press, 1989.