Good Government and Coordination

By Jack Kruf.

The painting in the Town Hall of the City (and from Republic) of Siena is called The Allegory of Good and Bad Government. It is a series of three fresco panels painted in the Sala Dei Nove by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338/1339. The series consists of six different scenes: Allegory of Good Government, Allegory of Bad Government, Effects of Bad Government in the City, Effects of Bad Government in the Country, Effects of Good Government in the City and Effects of Good Government in the Country. 

The only way to get to the high level of good government seems to be by coordination. Many issues today like climate change, cyber crime, large scale migration and water demands for much better coordination between people, teams, organisations in all governmental levels and between different segments and disciplines. This need is not only well described in the World Economic Forum in the Global Risks Report 2016 but was already expressed in many ways in this beautiful  fresco of Lorenzetti, almost 700 years ago.

Coordination is the key for successful approach and management of our public values like safety, cohesion, prosperity, health and balance with respect for nature. In this video it is explained very clearly by Charles Fried, professor at Harvard Law School and has been a visiting professor at Columbia Law School. It underlines the need for coordination to get speed in our public governance.