Should government officials rely on their own judgment instead of unquestioningly
carry out the will of the people? Certainly there is no easy answer to such a question
with complicated nature. From my point of view, in many cases it is more beneficial
that government officials primarily stick to their own judgment, but they cannot totally
disregard the people they serve.
To start with, generally speaking government officials are better informed in issues
than ordinary people are. This is because there are a large number of agencies within
the government that collect and analyze a wide range of data to present a more comprehensive
picture of society. Therefore officials generally know better than the public what the
priority issues in society are, whereas the public will be largely interested in practical
issues that are related to their daily life. Since the resources of a society or a nation are
limited, it is important to direct them to the issues that can benefit the maximum number of
societal members. On the other hand if officials solely cater to the public will without any
question, the overall progress of society and the welfare of the general public may be
compromised. In this sense, being better-informed can allow officials to make a decision that
is beneficial to the whole society.
Viewing from another angel, we may realize that public opinion is diverse, and can be easily
manipulated. This is because there are different interest groups within the society, who
hold differing values. Those groups can naturally disagree upon certain issues, making the
true “public will” hard to define. Moreover, there is the possibility that public opinions
are manipulated through influential media. Social psychologists have demonstrated time and
time again how easily media can exert influence on us and change our perception. In this
case the will of people is not truly theirs, but an illusion imposed by others.
However before I concluding my argument, I feel the urge to point out that although public
opinion shouldn’t be unquestioningly carried out, officials must still respect them and
the regulation from the people is also important. In any modern democratic political system,
the power of government is bestowed upon by the people. Therefore government has the
responsibility to listen to the voice of people. Furthermore, without people watching the
government, corruption and bribery may arise. The power of government will likely be abused
to satisfy the personal desire of officials, sacrificing the overall welfare of the public.
From this practical concern we need the power of people to tame the officials.
To summarize, although it is true that people’s voice must be heard and respected, I don’t
support the idea that government officials must unquestioningly obey the will of people, since
people are not as well-informed as officials and at the same time public opinion is susceptible
to deliberate manipulation.