Advent of Uber, sharing economy provides food for thought for policymakers, who must change with changing times

Governance has seen sea changes since Machiavelli's time. In the past, the prime objective of monarchs and rulers was to preserve and extend their powers. Citizens were their subjects and dictatorship was the norm in governing a state. 

Nowadays all over the world political leaders' major job is to address the concerns and needs of their citizens. Much of the state-sanctioned violence in the past is no longer legally nor morally acceptable. The complex and multifaceted society today requires properly formulated public policies translated into implementable measures safeguarded by laws and regulations to address these problems.

Good public policy is judged by its effectiveness and efficiency to address a certain issue. The results should be either an improvement in the livelihood of the people or to bring changes to the society economically, socially, or even politically. In some circumstances, the government cannot afford to simply learn from experience or by mistake. It is natural that some political leaders (policy makers) would wish to introduce some policy initiatives during their terms of office to benefit the community at large and to leave behind a legacy. However, this benevolent approach in public policy making may often end up in disarrays, resulting in conflicts and disharmony in society.

Because public policies are there to address the needs of the people, it is important that they take paramount consideration of the people they serve. In doing so, the right balance has to be maintained between the interests of different stakeholders.  A good government should be seen to be just, transparent and accountable. This is particularly important where the policies involve allocation of resources or vested interest groups.

The policy formulation process therefore requires careful consultation and assessment of public views.  In order to make the policy intention clear, government officials nowadays are often expected to not just advocate their proposals but to debate with and to win over the opponents. A top down or dictatorial attitude is not acceptable these days.

Another very important aspect about public policy is that it should never be static  Society changes and so do values of judgment.  Moreover, technological advances and globalisation pose additional challenges to policy makers. Public policy needs to keep up with time. New policies may need to be created or existing policies reformed or abolished. Public problems can originate and evolve in endless ways and require different policy responses (such as regulations, laws, funding and so on) on the local, national, or even international level.