Introduction
In the conditions of a secular state, there are many challenges resulting from the lack of unity and the subsequent disagreement of different participants on essential societal issues. From this point of view, change is the key to future prosperity, and this idea corresponds to the need to ensure the capability of present-day organizations to overcome problems. For this objective, they should be efficient in elaborating suitable policies in a timely manner and follow through on their execution.
However, it is still unclear to what extent the success of their initiatives can be secured in the circumstances presented above. Therefore, this paper aims to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the political, economic, and cultural institutions and compare them to the entities included in the constitutional design proposal regarding the prospects for their perseverance.
Political Institutions
Strengths
The first aspect allowing to provide a solid basis for further examination of the state of political institutions is their strengths, which are supposed to contribute to the proper resolution of emerging issues. In the case of this type of actors, they are described by their compatibility with the main principles of democracy. In other words, their operations are guided by the presence of leaders, whose actions are regulated by the distinct mechanisms of accountability.
They add to the appropriateness of any decisions taken and help maintain the quality of politicians’ performance with respect to the intended goals. Even though this traditional approach seems to evoke concerns of the population, the outcomes of corresponding studies revealed its overall productivity. The researchers claim that there is no conflict in co-existing traditional entities and modern democratic states, and the misinterpretation of their activity’s outcomes is explained by the lack of previous research on this topic. In this way, the benefits of these institutions are connected to their provision of guidance for making well-informed choices and the particular attention of the authorities towards the needs of people, which they manage to satisfy.
Weaknesses
Alongside the specified advantages of the current political institutions, there is a number of serious problems stemming from their non-compliance with the actual procedures of eliminating risks and addressing challenges. According to the scholars, they require the concentration of power in a single party for establishing the effectiveness of their actions. Nevertheless, this condition cannot be met in the existing democratic system, in which various organizations formulate and promote their stances. It means that the principal drawback is the lack of cooperation, which could be used for compensating for the revealed difficulties. Moreover, it is complemented by the commitment problem of political agents, who cannot efficiently conduct their policies, and this factor defines further crisis-management failures.
Indeed, designing a proposal aimed at resolving specific issues does not guarantee its proper implementation. This situation is complicated by the perception of the dominant role of power-sharing institutions instead of power-concentration units, which contravenes the considerations of productiveness. Hence, the weaknesses attributed to these organizations include the existence of multiple actors with conflicting views and the inadequate preferences contradicting the actual benefits in terms of the possession of power.
Comparison with the Constitutional Design Proposal
The discussion of strengths and weaknesses of the modern political institutions allows concluding on their non-correspondence to the tasks in this field due to their insufficient perseverance. It is explained by the dubious guidance of the principal agents deriving from their large numbers and the distorted perceptions of appropriate power distribution demonstrated by the citizens. These factors are inconsistent with the provisions regarding national unity and identity and, therefore, add to the emergence of problems in the decision-making process.
In contrast to this case, the suggestion to create an independent body responsible for the moral part and the overall cooperation of existing entities is beneficial and can eliminate the revealed challenges. It can help solve specific representation issues, such as the complicated access for women to the field, and be optimal in terms of stability and successful development while ensuring the required degree of perseverance. As follows from Romans 13:1, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” For compliance with this principle, the proposed structural change will be advantageous for all population groups and political actors.
Economic Institutions
Strengths
The strengths of the modern economic institutions are reflected by the availability of numerous opportunities for market entry by these organizations, and the growth of the field ensured through their enhanced involvement in business affairs. The former is secured by eliminating the fear of failure attributed to most new entrepreneurs, which is currently balanced by the chances for the founded firms’ profitability. In turn, the latter implies establishing significant economic freedoms, which contribute to the improved self-regulation of the people and the locations where they operate.
The combination of the continuously emerging positive conditions for this type of activity and the governments’ support defined by their role in its outcomes belong to the main advantages of the present-day economies. In addition, they are directly connected to the global expansion of this area and the accompanying benefits, which are the improvement of the situation with employment and, consequently, the world population’s living standards. As a result, a relatively favorable environment in this sphere is conditional upon the active participation of all agents and the greater satisfaction from the increase in profits and other benefits.
Weaknesses
There are several critical weaknesses in economic institutions under a secular government, and they are related to their effects on productivity of incorporated entities, income distribution, levels of inflation and wage growth, and poor cooperation. The researchers argue that one of the vital recent trends is the slowdown in the development of this field due to the numerous crises. In this case, neither technological progress nor policymakers’ efforts can change the patterns of economic operations of the time. This difficulty is added by the ongoing polarization of funds preventing the advanced countries in this respect from further evolution. This phenomenon is attributable to the gradual decline in middle-class earnings and the automation of semi-skilled tasks alongside offshoring of production.
Moreover, low inflation and income growth are also ascribed to the mentioned circumstances. As for the relationships between the organizations and their representatives, they play a crucial role in the position of the field. As can be seen from the official statistics, global integration in this regard is worsened by tensions between countries. Thus, the absence of a system coordinating business operations supplements the identified problems and presents the main weakness.
Comparison with the Constitutional Design Proposal
The economic institutions in their current state do not comply with the world’s actual needs since the identified issues present a threat, which cannot be mitigated by the described advantages. So, the activity of individuals and companies and the stability of their positions do not help eliminate the risks related to crises or improve the overall well-being of citizens worldwide. In contrast to this structure of the field, the proposed introduction of a connecting entity can adequately address this task and ensure the perseverance of all organizations involved. This conclusion is underpinned by the common source of the mentioned problems, which is the lack of collaboration between the actors. Furthermore, according to Proverbs 22:16, “One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich – both come to poverty.”
In other words, the neglect of different population groups expressed by the scholars who are primarily focused on the examination of middle-class representatives does not allow finding a solution to this challenge. Additionally, the orientation on advanced countries for improving economic indicators while ignoring other participants is not an optimal method.
Cultural Institutions
Strengths
The strengths of modern cultural institutions include their capability to address the population’s education and establish the interactions between representatives of different groups. They are explicitly demonstrated by the successes in spreading knowledge, which are linked to the accompanying improvements in people’s perceptions. For example, these entities’ activity in terms of the reaction to social change was generally evaluated as positive since it allowed informing citizens of their necessity and provide sufficient explanation of the processes.
In addition, these organizations significantly contributed to the appropriate perceptions of historical events, and these results confirmed the main agents’ ability to act upon the vast experience of humanity for the common good. These two spheres reflecting the advantages of this area promoted by corresponding facilities belong to their principal strengths. They help scholars build their findings upon the theoretical frameworks of the field and increase their precision, as in examining the connections between culture and education. Therefore, it can be concluded that these institutions positively impact the assessment of critical societal issues by providing comprehensive and continuous guidance in this respect.
Weaknesses
Although the majority of cultural institutions seems efficient in addressing the needs of citizens regarding information, they are characterized by serious weaknesses complicated their work and decreasing productivity. They include corruption of entrepreneurs and other unacceptable practices employed by them, which are typical for all organizations in society regardless of their nature. For instance, a welcome initiative of preserving historical heritages of the world countries and related objects can easily become a method to illegally obtain profits.
Because of this reason, these projects are largely unsustainable, but they can hardly be recognized as such due to the lack of regulating mechanisms intended for the elimination of these risks. Since it is impossible to reveal their organizers’ true intentions, these initiatives attract the people willing to increase their wealth through dishonest or improper means. Thus, the essential weaknesses of modern cultural facilities are their susceptibility to immoral conduct in the absence of specific provisions serving as guidance and the risks of becoming an instrument of exercising political power.
Comparison with the Constitutional Design Proposal
The conducted analysis of the state of cultural institutions in the present-day world allows considering it as an area lacking perseverance for finding the appropriate solutions to society’s vital problems. On the one hand, they are suitable for assessing the population’s demands regarding knowledge and preserving historical heritage while remaining the principal source of guidance for policymakers. On the other hand, such entities can be subject to illegal practices based on one’s desire to gain unlawful profits due to the absence of effective regulations. It is clear that these side effects of good motives are inevitable, but they present a barrier to demonstrating the necessary characteristics for future prosperity.
As it was explained in 2 Timothy 3:12-13, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” Meanwhile, the suggested creation of a special cultural committee can help coordinate the overall activity of the facilities and solve these problems. Thus, the issue connected to perseverance can be resolved by additional agents.
Conclusion
To summarize, the prospects for perseverance of the current political, economic, and cultural institutions of Western Civilization remain rather pessimistic since these organizations are incapable of addressing the emerging threats. This stance is confirmed by the assessment of their operations conducted above. Hence, in politics, the entities work to meet people’s desires with relative effectiveness, and their results do not meet the requirements due to the presence of multiple conflicting actors. In business and economic affairs, the environment is favorable, but further growth seems impossible because of the absence of a system coordinating all operations. In cultural organizations, their benefits for preserving the historical heritage and spreading knowledge are contrasted by the presence of illegal practices.
These facts emphasize the importance of the suggested changes in the constitutional design proposal, which are allegedly more effective in improving the outcomes since they imply the enhanced collaboration alongside the morality of decisions.
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