In an essay on LinkedIn, the former RBI Governor said governments that suppress criticism do themselves a disservice.
New Delhi: People in authority have to tolerate criticism and suppressing criticism is a sure-fire recipe for policy mistakes, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said Monday. In an essay on LinkedIn, Rajan said governments that suppress public criticism do themselves a gross disservice.
“People in authority have to tolerate criticism. Undoubtedly, some of the criticism, including in the press, is ill-informed, motivated, and descends into ad-hominem personal attacks. I have certainly had my share of those in past jobs. However, suppressing criticism is a sure-fire recipe for policy mistakes. If every critic gets a phone call from a government functionary asking them to back off, or gets targeted by the ruling party’s troll army, many will tone down their criticism. The government will then live in a pleasant make-believe environment, until the harsh truth can no longer be denied,” Rajan wrote in his essay.
He added that constant criticism allows periodic course corrections to policy, and public criticism indeed gives government bureaucrats the room to speak truth to their political masters. “Conversely, fulsome public praise crowds out the possibility that the government can be self-critical – even a whisper of dissent stands out. Governments that suppress public criticism do themselves a gross disservice.”
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