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We don't only want accountability, we also want good decisions, and good advice, even on delicate topics. IMO this is quite a difficult topic. Suppose you are
by iguy 6y ago
We don't only want accountability, we also want good decisions, and good advice, even on delicate topics. IMO this is quite a difficult topic.
Suppose you are concerned that some variants of a policy you're thinking about may be legal or illegal. There is a pretty large gray area. You could corner the relevant legal mind after lunch, and ask his opinion. Then there is no recording, only your memory.
Or you could email him, and get a more considered opinion. This is likely to lead to better policies. But perhaps some of the options you're considering are a bit controversial, and stating bluntly what you really mean (and what you are concerned about) is risky if your email may be subject to a FOI request. So perhaps you re-write it very carefully avoiding the worst options, or perhaps you run it past the PR people before emailing, or perhaps you give up and ask in the pub instead. These all seem like worse outcomes, and ones we should be careful not to encourage.
- Sevaris 6y agoI'm sorry, but if you require the deletion of what you said to protect yourself from the people, then you shouldn't be in a position of power. > and stating bluntly what you really mean (and what you are concerned about) In the end, people aren't judged for this. They're judged for the actions that they take, and then communications like this are used for context. If your decision is so bad that they had to make a FOI request to find out how spurious your reasoning was, then I don't see why you should have the protection of having no paper trail. That's insanity.
- iguy 6y ago> They're judged for the actions that they take I wish that were true, but it more often seems they're judged by the worst dirt that can be made to stick. And they know it.
- goatinaboat 6y agoI'm sorry, but if you require the deletion of what you said to protect yourself from the people, then you shouldn't be in a position of power. In reality if a politician makes a genuine error or prediction that turns out to be wrong he will face demands that he resigns for deliberately misleading the public. The media have created this toxic environment where normal debate and discourse is impossible