# Essay 1
# Fictional Policy - a framework for institutionalizing change for social good

Due to my very limited Public Policy knowledge, and me taking it as a compulsion to write this piece, I will take advantage of this situation, exercise my “poetic license”, and venture into fictional public policy, or for the lack of a better term - poli-fi. Just like sci-fi, or science-fiction, had us dreaming of flying cars and space travel, which has now become a reality, I think that along the same lines, if we go through the mini-mental exercises of writing fictional policy, or poli-fi, it might just be as beneficial to dream our own ideal systems, which might one day be reality. However, in order to venture into this uncharted territory in at least a non-erratic fashion, it's prudent to define the realm of poli-fi, which, in my own terms, would be as follows: A short, non-fictional piece that defines, details, and applies an ideal/fictional policy with an unbiased scientific temperament, primarily in the social context on individuals or a group of individuals on a relatively micro-scale, primarily in order to institutionalize/systemize the encouragement of individual/social good, and forbiddance of individual/social harm, in the best interests of the public.

One might incorrectly draw parallels with political fiction, which mostly tends to vividly detail a totalitarian dystopian world. Poli-fi, on the other hand, aims to step-by-step create a systemic representation of an ideal world with ideal processes. We first start by hammering out our individual views of an ideal system or process in an unbiased and scientific manner by proposing a fictional/ideal policy. It should of course be complete with intention, target audience, pros, cons, alternatives, and the like. With our detailed ideals on paper, we can then start and maintain solution-oriented, healthy conversations with other change-makers. With some discussion and deliberation, we can then finally arrive at a shared vision of an ideal system. This could also potentially lead to an actionable implementation of the same, all without the chaotic cacophony of disgruntled disagreements and retorts, which more often than not arise from ill-thought, imposing policies.

It's imperative to note that the mindset required for a successful poli-fi exercise must be that of “me and you” to solve a problem as opposed to “me vs. you” to oppose for politics’ sake. Besides, even if an implementation might be off the table, perhaps due to the inherent limitations of social liberty (as one’s free will cannot be exercised in curbing someone else’s free will, even if the other one’s free will is self-harming), such a poli-fi exercise and healthy discussion would, amongst the stakeholders, at least lead to an internal acceptance of a shared implementation of an ideal system. These exercises, when repeated, would drive one’s daily thoughts and actions, which would then further lead to inspiring others to adopt the same - all without having to go through the headache of forcing a policy on them.

By now, you might be wondering, I hope, what on earth is the context of all this? So let me give an example of poli-fi. We all know reading is an instrumental activity for anyone’s development for a wide variety of reasons (which I won't get into, because if you are reading this, you might already well know all about it). So naively speaking, why not build some sort of simple policy to get more people, or students specifically, back to reading, especially in the context of today’s day and age of social media’s instant gratification? For one, if I were to think simply and directly, we could mandate a reading hour, at least twice per week in schools, to build back the not-so-mysteriously lost art (and science) of reading tenacity. Another solution can be to build an environment with activities that naturally require reading in some way or the other, as that’s currently the case in many top schools. Of course, for now, I am not getting into the nitty gritty of this poli-fi, such as the issue of rural areas not having the accessibility to books for reading hours, or not having trained teachers to sustain a literary-conducive environment. But the crux is, we are focusing on getting more people to read. I might have a detailed approach, you might have another. So for example, if me and you both are principals of schools in different areas, and we independently conduct this poli-fi exercise, and then meet to finalize it further, we can then take this framework back to our respective schools, tailor it further, and either fully or partially implement it to finally solve the issue of the lost reading habit.

Now whether or not such crude policies should be implemented is a matter better left to the experts, the key takeaway is that such a poli-fi exercise would ideally lead to a healthy discussion amongst the stakeholders, of a social problem and its possible solutions, which, in some way or the other, leads to a direct or indirect implementation of the same. I understand that this is easier said than done, but hey, we do have all sorts of conferences, knowledge exchange panels, seminars, and the like in all walks of life. So why not have a similar environment that encourages institutionalizing change for social good?