A Twitter is "doing a paper on whether governments should go for growth or happiness. Got anything interesting, any posts?
This is the problem learning at public (government) or private (religious) schools with poorly trained teachers....they presume too much, or think too shallowly. Are they responding to earthily concerns, or are we supposed to conjure up some 'half reality' out of context?
The second problem is establishing what government should be doing, if anything?
The third problem - which they actually imply that you should do - is that you should establish what is the proper standard of value. Is the good that which achieves happiness or is the good that which achieves growth?
The answer to that question depends upon you establishing a link between human nature and your ultimate values. That task I leave to you. But I will give you a clue because the school does not teach you the right answer. Worse still, they will punish you for giving the right one, which I would give you; which is that values are objective. They are rational and they relate to your nature as a human being. So you have to establish if happiness or growth is consonant with facts of human nature, or something else. Warning: Don't presume! I just wanted to give you a chance, because the global education system never would. One day I will establish an online school, but its premature :)
The lesson: Never trust academics to give you an education :)
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Author
Andrew Sheldon
