Government officials should rely on their own judgment rather than unquestioningly carry out the will of the people they serve.

Democracy is the system of governance by the entire population where they exercise control through elected representatives. The proposition that bureaucrats must rely on personal judgement instead of unquestioningly following public desires amounts to undermine the very objective of a democratic system. However, government officials have the entrusted duty to lead the people with their experience and knowledge in the best interest of national welfare. Hence, while they must consider will of the people on matters directly related to them; they should also rely on personal or professional opinions when the public will is contrary to the overall interest of the country.

Any Government is a multidimensional complex functioning entity whose decisions have a direct bearing on public life and national welfare. When people vote a Government to power after, say, an economic crisis, corruption scandal of failure of state machinery; they have certain expectations regarding healthcare, sanitation, job opportunities, fuel prices, etc. The Government, then, has a responsibility entrusted on it by the democracy to meet these expectations. Many times, these issues may not seem as relevant or important to the bureaucracy as they are to the people. There may be instances when the officials are willing to invest on a space program in the face of high unemployment or to invest in building a fly over instead of a hospital when there is an endemic. Such situations may result in a discord between people and the authority, at times, manifesting in the form of protests, violent agitations or riots thus endangering the social fabric of the state. Therefore, Government officials must consider public opinion or will on issues directly affecting them.

However, on many instances, the will of the people may be contrary to the interest of the country. For example, when a curfew or restriction on free movement is imposed due to a terrorist attack or national emergency, people may want them removed regardless of the importance of the step for the security of the state. Or there may be certain tribes willing to settle in environmentally conserved area, thus, threatening the local flora and fauna. Moreover, people may not be well-informed or knowledgeable on some sensitive issues such as defence or foreign policy to form credible opinions. Thus, in these cases, for the security and well-being of the country, officials must certainly rely on their own judgment instead of unquestioningly following public demands.

Furthermore, depending upon the cultural background or education level, public will might be tainted by some unethical beliefs of the day. For example, during Lincoln’s reign, the whites believed that the blacks are psychologically inferior to them and that slavery was their natural state. Or in colonial India, child marriage was the norm of the day. Had the contemporary Governments unquestioningly followed the will of the people, the respective countries would have never evolved into civilized states as they boast today.

However, there may be certain areas such as education, allocation of reach funds, child and women rights, etc. where policy making requires domain expertise. And the Government officials may be as clueless on these areas as the ordinary multitude. On these areas, therefore, they must invoke professional consultation instead of relying either on personal judgment or on public will.

In conclusion, the binary recommendation for the bureaucrats to either depend upon own judgement or on public will is inappropriate. Excessive reliance of officials on personal judgment may foster autocratic decisions while unquestioningly following the public will might pave for ‘populism’. While on matters directly affecting the public life, their will must be considered; otherwise, on sensitive issues, Government officials must rely on personal or professional judgment for policy making for the overall welfare of the country.