Jose Antonio M.

Barroso
History has proved that there is no perfect government. Many kinds have emerged all throughout history
because of the various instances that proved certain governments ineffective in a specific nation. But what
would be the best government for the Philippines? Leaving all bias aside, which type of government
would serve the Filipinos well and would lead the Philippines to development, progress and prosperity? I
think that a fitting government for the Philippines should be a government that borders in between the
peoples wants but also their needs. Between Authoritarian and Democratic government, if I were to
choose, I would choose neither. They are both extremes of a governments positive and negative side.
Authoritarian is too freedom lacking and democratic is too freedom hungry.
A government should be in the center of the peoples wants and the peoples needs. Without the people
the government has no one to exercise power over to. The peoples want would refer to their desire for
freedom and a part in the decision making in the government. The peoples needs on the other hand refer
to the assessment of what is right for the people. The problem with authoritarian government is that it is
focused on a dictator who thinks that discipline is the primary need of the people. Having all their primary
needs met (Food, clothing security), it tends to control even the freedom or the extent of freedom of the
people. Democratic on the other hand gives the people the right or a say in the governments decision.
This however, gives birth to the peoples tendency to stress on every issue that in their mind they think is
right. To sum the points up too much of anything is bad. Too much freedom is bad. Too much control
and discipline is bad.
Political maturity affects people in different governments in different ways. In a democratic government,
a politically mature individuals say in the governments decision would be better and more useful than a
politically immature individual. They are also able to elect better and more deserving leaders thus
improving the quality of the government we have. In an authoritarian government on the other hand, a
politically mature person would see through a dictators plans and they would also be more likely to act
rationally towards the oppressive authoritarian government.
There would be a question if an authoritarian government could achieve freedom like a democratic one
and a democratic government could achieve discipline and order. In the Authoritarians case freedom
would only be up to the dictator. The dictator decides to what extent freedom is bestowed upon to the
people. In a democratic government however it is impossible to achieve discipline because the people
would always want whats best for them. In other words, people are self-interested. It is impossible for a
democratic government to achieve absolute discipline because people are freedom hungry individuals.
They cannot be tamed by anyone fully.

Truly there is no perfect government. Knowing that is so, how do we know what is best for our country?
How can a change in government help in our present problems in the country? Or the much bigger
question is: will it change or alleviate the country from the problems it is facing now? People are innately
self-interested individuals, freedom hungry, and potentially destructive by nature. I think the focus should
be not on the type of government but the kind of people we choose as our government. When we do that
right then the kind of government will be irrelevant.