Policy making and values

Abstract

In short Many current challenges, such as overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic, migration, or climate change, require political action that goes beyond the national level and requires broad public legitimacy. If the values that underpin the policy-making process do not match the values and attitudes that prevail in society, the rules are not followed, or people express their dissatisfaction in protest. On highly polarizing issues, when political decisions involve choosing in favour of one side or another, it is almost impossible for policymakers to base their decisions on the conflicting attitudes and values of the entire population. In a democratic society, the key to this challenge is transparency and openness in the decision-making process. The different dimensions of values and attitudes that characterize a particular society should be considered when explaining the decisions made, facts and political decisions are not value neutral. Policy makers and the media and need to be careful about confronting different identity groups, as this exacerbates conflicts and makes decision-making more difficult. In the policy-making process, one way to avoid conflict and confrontation between two groups is to find another, unifying identity or unifying value that underpins the political message. In Latvia, one of the unifying values of society is the family and family relationships as a value.