Problem
Lag in policy conceptualization
Other Names:
Policy dependence on outdated approachesDelay in adaptation of thinking of political leaders
Dependence on mental structures ill-adapted to contemporary problems
Claim:
Over the past half century, the political class has been content to apply conventional ideas, instead of questioning them. There are no exceptions. Failures of this approach have been disguised. The lag effect is the result of the difference between the evolution of political situations and those of the mental structures of the leadership groups, as well as those of the led. New ideas for new problems, when they can be made known, are difficult for the leadership class to comprehend. Their most basic mental structures are fundamental in that they condition the way they represent the world and the political world. It is they which determine the way in which problems are posed. Intellectual conservatism is thus a structural phenomenon. It is the continued survival of an outdated explanatory system which prevents the elaboration of a strategy appropriate to the control and orientation of planetary strategy. Broader Problems:
DelayPersistence of outmoded concepts Aggravates:
ConservatismPolicy-making delaysBureaucratic inactionNon-recognition of problemsMis-communications to societal learnersDelays in implementation of social changeExcessive emphasis on fashionable problemsDelay of religions in acknowledging social problemsExcessive reliance on fashionable solutions to problems Strategies:
Showing leadership in international politicsUpdating policy approachesAddressing dependence on mental structures ill-adapted to contemporary problemsUsing outdated approachesSpeeding up political adaptationProviding speedy policy conceptualization Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
24.04.2000 – 00:00 CEST