Political Wellness

Less expectations of what the government will do

Less complexity in the government system

= More happiness

In today’s world, disenchantment with politics has major influences on almost all democracies. Governmental and other political institutions get rejected and a general indifference towards politics, its working and its influence is widespread among especially the youth. Active participation of the general public is not taking place anymore. In today's societies people do not feel represented anymore. They feel that politics has no influence on them and that their wishes are not respected.

The political system in Less is More is trying to counteract these tendencies. The principle of Less is More can eliminate the disenchantment with politics. Under the principle of Less is More, the citizens of our society have less expectation of what the government will do for them. As a result, they are no longer dependent on the government and thus no longer passive beings. They do not rely on the government, waiting and hoping that it makes the right decisions for them. Instead, they are able to take more active actions through more representation and participation. Furthermore, there is less complexity in the government system. Our government has a very simplified structure, having only five ministries that look over the five basic needs of the people. Because of this simplified system, fragmentation can be reduced, thus increasing integration among the departments. This integration also increases the transparency of the government.

Through less expectation and less complexity, we want to decrease political apathy and political alienation. We want to refocus the political system towards the people and increase political participation, the feeling that the public's wishes matter, the feeling that their voice counts and that they have an influence on the political process. Furthermore we also want to increase the transparency of the political process because closed and non-transparent political decision-making processes contribute to the political alienation of the citizens. Citizens at every point in time should be able to see what their representatives are doing and what kind of rules and regulations they are discussing at the moment. The general legislative system of Less is More has a simple structure in order for everyone to understand it and to increase transparency.

The decrease of the use of technology in the general population is one of the aims of Less is More. Nevertheless for the political system one key piece of technology is required. A tablet that is individually assigned to every citizen of age through which not only elections take place but which can be served even outside of elections function as a communication device between the citizens and the government. As can be seen above the people are responsible for electing the parliament which together with the authority adopts all new laws and regulations. Before all laws pass through the parliament an expert round of all stakeholders involved or affected with new regulation discuss different proposals and ideas of the direction and content of the proposed law. For example in the case of healthcare scientists, members of the communities, doctors etc. come together and debate on what the optimal rate of hospitals to inhabitants is to guarantee access to healthcare for everyone.

The members of the parliament can also increase political participation with the help of the tablet introduced above and communicate with the citizens through surveys and other forms of governmental inquiries. Through this way all proposed regulation can be tested against the voice of the general public. Furthermore through this way all proposed laws can be tested against the GNH (Gross National Happiness) Index and if the law helps to increase the GNH, it can be another influencing factor for the members of the parliament to adopt the proposed piece of regulation and vice versa to reject or revise it. Through this system the citizens of Less is More have the chance to participate in two ways in the political decision making process and to assure that their voice is heard. By this way we want to reduce alienation and apathy from the political system and emphasize that the political system is there to serve the people and financial interests as it is the case in many current societies.

The GNH Index used in Less is More comprises of 5 different broad categories: economic wellness, environmental wellness, physical and mental wellness, social wellness and political wellness. The basic governmental functions are oriented along those five different sectors and for each of those categories a ministry was established. Further elaboration on this will follow in the next section.

The Prime Minister of Less is More is elected by the people. The Prime Minister, together with the Ministers, who after appointment have to be confirmed by the Parliament, are the executive of Less is More. The Parliament, which forms the Legislative Branch of the government, is also elected by the people. However, the officials for the Judiciary are not elected by the people. Instead, they are appointed first by the Executive and then confirmed by the Parliament.

In the Less is More society we want the government to serve the people and as such provide a social guidance to achieve the goals of happiness and less is more for the people. As can be seen in the part about the different governmental functions, the government is not a small government but focuses on key areas to provide a full extend of services. Those key areas are deemed important to achieve a general happiness level. The basic needs are taken care of by the government or the government is providing basic standards. The expectation towards the governments is decreased in the sense that the people only expect basic services but everything beyond that has to be taken care of within the community. The Less is More philosophy of decreased expectation and simplicity is achieved by our governmental design.

Furthermore, the people are also more closely connected to the government through the constitutional monarchy system that was established due to the history of Less is More. The Monarch does not have any power but only serves as a state symbol and as something that the people can identify with and it allows for more unity of the whole state. Together with increased political participation, this system wants to try to decrease political alienation. Less in the sense of decreased apathy towards the political system and More participation, unity and happiness.