Loved this. In a policy sense it heightens, for me at least, the importance of cresting a principles base for action. If you cannot predict the outcome of an action with any certainty (and like you, I expect this to be particularly true in cases where complex social dynamics are at play) then I suspect you are left with three bases for acting: (1) an expression of power: policy action is always an expression of power, but in the absence of some other rationale it become only an expression of power (and in a democratic context this translates quickly into politics); (2) an expression of hope: policy action here becomes less about expectation of an outcome and more about a hoped for outcome; (3) an expression of principle: policy action here is based on a values set that endures irrespective of the specific outcomes it achieves. This last basis for action connects the 'good' to come from the action with the value it is based on, and endures even if a 'bad' occurs. Promoting free choice is a classic example.
Loved this. In a policy sense it heightens, for me at least, the importance of cresting a principles base for action. If you cannot predict the outcome of an action with any certainty (and like you, I expect this to be particularly true in cases where complex social dynamics are at play) then I suspect you are left with three bases for acting: (1) an expression of power: policy action is always an expression of power, but in the absence of some other rationale it become only an expression of power (and in a democratic context this translates quickly into politics); (2) an expression of hope: policy action here becomes less about expectation of an outcome and more about a hoped for outcome; (3) an expression of principle: policy action here is based on a values set that endures irrespective of the specific outcomes it achieves. This last basis for action connects the 'good' to come from the action with the value it is based on, and endures even if a 'bad' occurs. Promoting free choice is a classic example.