New Books in Economics Nicholas Chesterley, "Future-Generation Government: How to Legislate for the Long Term" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2025)
May 31, 2025
Nicholas Chesterley, a behavioral scientist and author of Future-Generation Government, discusses innovative strategies for long-term legislation. He highlights the necessity of sustainable policymaking and the impact of short-term political pressures on long-term governance. Chesterley introduces the concept of 'red teams' to challenge proposals, enhancing decision-making through constructive debate. He emphasizes adaptive governance and the role of public engagement in shaping policies that resonate with future generations, using real-world examples to illustrate his points.
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Governments' Short-Term Bias
- Governments suffer from short-term bias due to election cycles, voter preferences, and overwhelming daily pressures.
- This bias limits capacity to plan long-term despite the necessity to address enduring issues like climate change and pandemics.
FDR’s Need for Focused Time
- FDR valued uninterrupted time, needing three or four days to focus deeply, which modern leaders lack due to overwhelming problem volumes.
- Modern leaders face hundreds of issues daily, making long-term focus exceedingly difficult.
Democracy Beats Authoritarianism
- Centralized authoritarian regimes like Singapore show success but often fail overall on long-term wealth and environmental protection.
- Democracies, despite flaws, offer better prospects for sustained long-term planning due to power decentralization.