Cost–benefit, what cost?
How do you appraise intangible benefits, whose knowledge counts?
Knowledge takes many forms, but not all of them are considered equal, writes Pounamu Jade Aikman in this extract from Whose Knowledge Counts?
"Whether in hīkoi to parliament or at the polytech at dawn, we’re too unruly, too joyfully inconsistent, to fit the market’s mould. As long as we measure the worth of health and education in purely financial terms, we will always see programmes like school lunches as inherent liabilities, not long-term investments."
"But what does happen when we let market reason decide what is reasonable? That’s what’s most unsettling of all. Feeding our tamariki lunch at schools may never pass the cost-benefit test, because an exclusively market-driven appraisal is anchored in money, not manaaki."
Whose knowledge counts? | E-Tangata
“Feeding our tamariki lunch at schools may never pass the cost-benefit test, because an exclusively market-driven appraisal is anchored in money, not manaaki.” — Dr Pounamu Jade Aikman, in his book ‘Whose Knowledge Counts? From Warp Drive to Waka Huia.’
Pounamu Jade Aikman
