Reform means beneficial change, or sometimes, more
specifically, reversion to a pure original state.to reform
something
Reform is generally distinguished from
revolution. The latter means basic or radical
change; whereas reform may be no more than fine tuning, or at most
redressing serious wrongs without altering the fundamentals of the
system. Reform seeks to improve the system as it stands, never to
overthrow it wholesale.
During the
Philadelphia
Convention of 1787, for example, the
New Jersey Plan would have
reformed
the existing constitution, the
Articles of Confederation. By
contrast, the
Virginia Plan proposed
to completely rewrite the nation's fundamental charter, and create
a new constitution. Virginia's more
revolutionary approach
prevailed and resulted in the U.S. Constitution.
Likewise today, many reforms are proposed in the
United States Congress which aim to
improve the system. For example,
campaign finance reform would modify
the way elections in the United States are financed, but would not
change the basic nature of the offices at stake.
Rotation in office or
term limits would, by contrast, be more
revolutionary, in altering basic political connections between
incumbents and constituents.
The
UK
government frequently uses the term "reform" to
describe changes to public services, such as the National Health Service.
However, these changes are not universally accepted as beneficial
.
Developing countries may carry
out a wide range of reforms to improve their living standards,
often with support from
international financial
institutions and
aid agencies. This
can include reforms to
macroeconomic policy, the
civil service,
and
public financial
management.
Re-form
A note about
grammar: when used to describe
something which is
physically formed again, such as
re-
casting it in a
mold/mould, or a
band that gets back together, the proper term
is
re-form (with a
hyphen),
not "reform".
References
External links