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Principles of Good Government
Hardcover
Publisher Price: $23.00
Publisher: Madsen Barbosa & Co. Press
Published: Sep 15 2026
Pages: 162
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.44 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Political books usually arrive carrying answers. This one begins with questions.
Principles of Good Government examines a more fundamental problem: before deciding what government should do, how confident should we be in the assumptions beneath our political answers?
Why can two well-intentioned people look at the same problem and reach opposite conclusions? Who decides what is fair? Who watches those entrusted with power? What happens when voters are wrong? Can institutions designed for good people survive bad ones? When does helping begin to hurt? And can a society become more capable without becoming wiser?
Drawing on history, political philosophy, economics, psychology, and real-world examples, Marcelo Madsen examines the mechanisms that shape political outcomes: institutions, incentives, information, power, human behavior, accountability, and unintended consequences.
The book does not offer a constitutional blueprint or ask readers to adopt a particular ideology. Instead, it challenges readers to examine political arguments more carefully, question simple explanations, understand competing perspectives, and confront the trade-offs that exist beneath many of our most difficult public questions.
For readers interested in democracy, institutions, public policy, political philosophy, and the recurring human problems that affect every system of government, Principles of Good Government offers a conversation that begins where slogans end.
Because better questions lead to better governments.
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