Principles for Governments

It is the responsibility of governments, working with local and international business to see that the essential elements for development are brought into being.  The task of developing a poor nation into a prosperous nation will not be achieved unless certain conditions exist.  The various steps the poorer nations must take to attract investments are all things that help assure a return on that investment.  As the elements are put into place, the opportunities for private business to create new wealth become more and more appealing.  The private sector as the producer of goods and services must be able to flourish if a prosperous economy is to be created.

Therefore, the Caux Round Table offers the following Principles for Governments in the expectation that better government supporting the entrepreneurial endeavors of socially responsible businesses around the world will generate greater investment of private capital to create more wealth for poor people. Click here for the CRT Principles for Government

Moral Government

The Principles for Government start with the assertion that public office is a public trust. The moral obligation to view government and the use of public power as stewardship is found in and supported by most religious and ethical traditions.

In the modern era of bureaucratic legalisms, this important moral grounding for justice has been more and more overlooked. Thus, a vacuum in our appreciation of what is expected from politicians and public officials has contributed to our current malaise. Most Americans today think that our political system is broken. Levels of cynicism, alienation, carping, frustration, “none-of-the-above-ism, independence are at historic highs for our republic. Short-sighted selfishness is accepted as beyond our abilities to contest just as quickly as it is rejected as a moral norm that we should choose for our community.

How can we get it? By going back to basics. We need practical guidelines for doing politics and government as a public trust. The CRT proposes 8 principles by which politicians and public officials can assess their decisions. These principles can enable anyone to conduct themselves in a worthy fashion that ennobles their personal ambitions for fame and position.

The CRT has provided a training handbook in use of the principles. This handbook is called Moral Government. Training sessions can be as short as one hour and as long as 8 hours. They can be small tutorials or large lectures. The CRT has also developed self-assessment instruments for politicians, civil servants and agency heads to help them think through how they have in the past implemented, or not implemented so very well, the recommended ethical Principles for Government.