Why rules exist

The chapter opens with two quotations from far apart. From the Mahābhārata: 'The ruler protects dharma and dharma protects those who protect it.' And from Rigoberta Menchú Tum: 'There is no peace without justice; no justice without equality; no equality without development; no democracy without respect to the identity and dignity of cultures and peoples.'

Human beings have lived in communities for a long time. When many people live together, there can be disagreements and disorder, so rules become necessary to keep order and harmony.

You probably follow some simple rules at home. Your school has rules too, some for students and some for teachers. Drivers on the road must obey traffic rules. Rules run both ways at work as well: employees follow the rules set by their employer, and employers must keep the rules they have promised their employees.

What would happen if no one followed the rules? The simple answer: society would not be able to function. Think of a crossroads where nobody obeys the traffic lights.

Three words to learn carefully:

• Governance is the process of taking decisions, organising society's life with sets of rules, and making sure they are followed.
• A government is the group of people, or the system, that makes the rules and makes sure they are followed.
• Laws are the more important rules.

So governance is the activity, and government is who does it. Imagine a teacher who suggests a new school rule, talks it over with other teachers, takes it to the principal for approval, and then announces it: that whole process is governance.

Rules and laws are not fixed for ever. Just as you might discuss a rule at home with your parents, or students might ask the school to change a rule, citizens also have a say in the laws and rules that govern society.