The monthly discussion series “Liberty Discussion Session” was held on the topic “Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy” on 26th December, 2014 at GAIA Restaurant, Thamel. Altogether, 7 people participated in the discussion, which included members from Samriddhi, SAGE Nepal, Biruwa Ventures and students from different college. Mr. Pramod Risal, Research Associate at Samriddhi Foundation, moderated the forum.
The participants were asked to read a post from Mackinac Center’s website, Lawrence W Reed’s article “Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy.” The participants discussed how applying the principles from the article would affect the free market, how it could contribute to open market operation, and help formulate good public policy. Overall, all of the seven principles were scrutinized and discussed from different perspectives. The participants brought forth examples from both developed and developing countries and revisited scenarios where policies based on these principles proved successful. While adhering to the theme of the paper, the discussion topics pursued a variety of contemporary issues and past examples to both challenge and assert the article’s claims. It was ultimately agreed that government policies should not attempt to better any one group, should acknowledge long-run and short-run effects, and realize that government employees have in control what is effectively others’ and hence have little incentive to maintain it or ensure its sustainability.
Link to Reed’s Article: http://www.mackinac.org/3832