Date published: 2006/05/22
The BBC says:
Tory leader David Cameron says there is more to life than making money, arguing that improving people's happiness is a key challenge for politicians.
In a speech to the Google Zeitgeist Europe conference, he said the focus should not just be on financial wealth.
Under a Tory government, the public sector would become "the world leader in progressive employment practice".
But he conceded that some on the right would believe people's well-being was nothing to do with politics.
However, Mr Cameron says improving society's sense of happiness is of the utmost importance.
He insists that the old Protestant work ethic should move to a "modern vision of ethical work" and highlighted examples of good practice in flexible working.
"It's time we admitted that there's more to life than money, and it's time we focused not just on GDP, but on GWB - general well-being," he said.
"Well-being can't be measured by money or traded in markets. It's about the beauty of our surroundings, the quality of our culture and, above all, the strength of our relationships.
"Improving our society's sense of well-being is, I believe, the central political challenge of our times."
Dear oh dear, reach for the sick bag. And isn't it amazing that it is always rich people who say that there is more to life than money. Of course this verbiage is also largely content-free, it's like saying that he is for motherhood and apple pie. What is he really suggesting in terms of policy?
_________________________________________________________
All material not included from other sources is copyright cambridge2000.com.
For further information or questions email: info [at] cambridge2000 [dot] com
(replace "[at]" with "@" and "[dot]" with ".").