Collective responsibility.
This is a concept I first came across when studying politics a couple of decades ago. The concept is that when a decision is made at cabinet level, in as much as difference of opinion can be expressed in the meeting, externally everyone gets behind it.
The concept is not applicable to every decision made in the cabinet. There is an appreciation that certain decisions may cause significant challenges for some individuals in the cabinet. On those an agreement is reached that enables those in disagreement to maintain a dignified stance against the decision without stopping the progress of the cabinet.
As with a lot of concepts in practice it can run into some issues. That revolves around the varying factors that determine how a cabinet can go about effective decision-making. If the leader does not have substantial support in the party, that can make things difficult. If the party as a whole has a tenuous hold on power, the slightest sense of discontent can have a destabilising effect.
There are also the various personalities involved both in and out of the cabinet that can hold considerable influence. Then of course there is that fairly unpredictable issue of changing circumstances – events – things happen. What appeared like a good decision on Monday can be a disastrous one by Wednesday all because of what happened on Tuesday then all of a sudden there’s a scramble among cabinet members to control their part in the process.
There is a perception, though, that we should expect that from politicians. There remains a stigma of doing dodgy deals and only looking to progress up the ladder even if it’s at the expense of others. So of course only in politics is a concept like collective responsibility so much under scrutiny.
Only politics …
(Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 