Much-to-your-credit cards
Can government make people better by offering them incentives to be good?
VIRTUE, according to Cardinal Newman, a 19th-century theologian, is its own reward. In most stories about good behaviour, though—from Cinderella to the Happy Prince—the rewards for being good turn out to be very material, even though they require a little patience. If the government has its way, a scheme to provide every child aged between 13 and 19 with an “opportunity card” will make the wait between a good deed and its reward disappear altogether.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Much-to-your-credit cards”
From the July 23rd 2005 edition
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