On the Paradigm Shift of Public Administration and Administrative Law

Author: Shi Youqi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The "limited government" approach differs from the "all-powerful government." Limited government emphasizes macroeconomic regulation by the government and self-management by society, respects the objective laws of market development, avoids excessive direct intervention, and only provides guidance when necessary, acting where the market fails or society cannot function. Limited government does not mean that the government's size, functions, and power should be as small as possible, nor does it mean a weak and ineffective government. Instead, it refers to an able and effective government, where the government's power, functions, and scale are kept within a reasonable and effective range. This prevents the overexpansion and alienation of government functions, reasonably divides the roles and responsibilities of the government, market, and society, and maintains a dynamic, coordinated, and complementary framework for their structure, mechanisms, and functions. The government gradually withdraws from competitive economic sectors and social self-governing areas, entrusting resource allocation, production and operation, and social self-governance to the market, enterprises, social intermediaries, and self-governing organizations. This is beneficial not only for reducing administrative costs and improving efficiency but also for fully leveraging the functions of the market and society to meet the diverse interests of the public. Limited government is a rule-of-law government, where the government's power, functions, scale, and actions are regulated by law and openly subject to social supervision and restraint. Hayek believed: "Setting aside all technical details, the rule of law means that the government is constrained by pre-established and announced rules in all its actions—rules that allow a person to be certain about how the authorities will use their coercive power in a given situation and to plan their personal affairs accordingly." Yayi pointed out: "Limited government is a government that is both procedurally and substantively legitimate." It must operate under the law. The establishment and division of government agencies and their authority must be stipulated by law. The government must operate within the scope of the law, according to prescribed conditions and procedures, and bear corresponding legal responsibilities for illegal acts. Market failure does not necessarily mean government failure. The government should take on the task of supplementing market failures, but this does not mean the government must or can supplement market failures. Market failure only constitutes a necessary condition for government intervention, not a sufficient reason for it. Government intervention is only justified under necessary and effective conditions. The role of the government is to supplement the market, not to replace it. The effectiveness of the government is also a justification for limited government. This can be considered the core argument of the limited government theory. Conservative economists who support the limited government theory define the purpose of government as: "protecting the natural order from coercion and fraud." Milton Friedman defined the functions of government as: "The scope of government must be limited. Its primary role must be to protect our freedom from enemies both outside the door and among our fellow citizens, to protect law and order, to protect the fulfillment of private contracts, and to foster competitive markets." "The necessity of government lies in its role as both the 'rule-maker' and the 'referee' who interprets and enforces the determined rules." Hayek defined the responsibilities of government as: "The primary responsibility of the government is to support the individual's right to make decisions within the market, not to interfere with their right to make decisions." As one of many social organizations, the government should "provide an effective external framework for the emergence of spontaneous order" and "protect (market) spontaneous order, which is the primary condition for achieving common welfare." Limited government is a remedy for the chronic diseases of an all-powerful government, which arises from the negative consequences of government's comprehensive intervention in social and economic affairs, leading to rapid expansion of government institutions, low administrative efficiency, and unsustainable fiscal burdens. When the government's power and functions expand without limit, engaging excessively in tasks that can be handled by society and the market, or intruding into areas of private life, it deprives society or individuals of their ability to self-service and self-govern, and weakens the market's self-regulation capacity. Such government management not only fails to truly solve social and market failures but also leads to government failure. The unlimited expansion of government size results in bloated institutions, excessive bureaucracy, and inefficiency, directly causing sluggishness and shirking. On the other hand, it increases fiscal spending, imposing heavy burdens on economic and social development, objectively hindering normal socio-economic activities. With the rapid development of modern transportation and communication, the internationalization of production and operation, commercial trade, financial investment, and even knowledge and ideas has accelerated. Globalization has shown a trend of expanding from the economic sphere to the political and cultural spheres. This has changed the operating environment for governments worldwide, presenting higher challenges to administrative efficiency and capacity. A vast and all-powerful government is unable to adapt to these challenges. Toffler, in describing the immense pressure global competition imposes on governments, proposed two solutions: "One approach is to further strengthen the center by adding more politicians, bureaucrats, experts, and computers to keep pace with rapidly increasing complexity; the other is to distribute decision-making authority through collective effort, allowing 'the bottom' or 'the periphery' to make more decisions, thereby reducing the burden on the government center, which is already strained and disorganized." In response, Osborne and Gaebler, in Reinventing Government, pointed out: "Traditional leaders instinctively choose the first approach." "However, this instinctive approach will only lead to more centralized control and merged institutions, which will generate more waste rather than reduce it." The solution that adapts to historical trends should be the second: through administrative reform, adjust and reorganize government power and functions, establish a limited government, implement decentralization or devolution, streamline institutions and personnel, and create new mechanisms that are responsive and efficient, thereby reducing political instability. Additionally, global issues such as population growth, environmental pollution, resource scarcity, financial crises, and arms expansion are increasingly difficult for a single country or government to address. The increase in the number and expansion of functions of international and regional non-governmental organizations make it inevitable for governments to transfer power to them. Establishing a limited government, closely cooperating with international and regional organizations, and actively participating in international division of labor and trade exchanges will be the necessary path for many countries to gain political and economic benefits, promote rapid social development, and maintain national sovereignty. P.130-132