After its emergence in the sphere of international aid, it is still difficult to light upon a consensus about what exactly good governance is. Discussions on the concept have thrown up a succession of proposals regarding organizational and procedural structures, constraining theoretical-political debate. A genealogical deconstruction of the history of the word shows that its different discursive traditions only relate to technical issues and ideas, while the ideological background and political imperatives remain the same. Good Governance itself has a strong dose of vigilante underpinnings that restricts the intellectual and political debate to a narrow frame of general ideas: the recognition of the liberal/capitalist democracies focussing on economic goals as the be-all and end-all of good governance. It is necessary to determine if good governance acts as an ideological concept or as a theoretical political tool. This article suggests the need for rethinking good governance to bring it into line with good judgement and thus making it into a useful theoretical tool instead of an ideological straightjacket.

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Good governance,Good judgement,Rhetoric,Technique,Vigilante society

• Ciências Políticas - Ciências Sociais