Your assertion that we all want more benefit for less cost sounds very reasonable, yet is somehow not universal.
Some of your points are reminiscent of those made by Effective Altruists. Does utilitarianism play any role in your beliefs about the importance of analyzing program cost?
I think you are right that many of the cost-inclusive evaluation framework is probably "utilitarian by default" in the same way that mainstream economics is. I'm personally not a utilitarian or an EA. I prefer virtue ethics. In virtue ethics, we have the idea of phronesis (practical wisdom) which guides the application of the virtues. Phronesis requires us to understand the particulars of each ethical situation in which we find ourselves - both the material and the non-material salient features. I think that understanding program costs is usually (but perhaps not always) one of those morally salient features. In other words, costs and benefits are important, but I wouldn't let them in the driver's seat the way utilitarians do. Would you agree?
Your assertion that we all want more benefit for less cost sounds very reasonable, yet is somehow not universal.
Some of your points are reminiscent of those made by Effective Altruists. Does utilitarianism play any role in your beliefs about the importance of analyzing program cost?
I think you are right that many of the cost-inclusive evaluation framework is probably "utilitarian by default" in the same way that mainstream economics is. I'm personally not a utilitarian or an EA. I prefer virtue ethics. In virtue ethics, we have the idea of phronesis (practical wisdom) which guides the application of the virtues. Phronesis requires us to understand the particulars of each ethical situation in which we find ourselves - both the material and the non-material salient features. I think that understanding program costs is usually (but perhaps not always) one of those morally salient features. In other words, costs and benefits are important, but I wouldn't let them in the driver's seat the way utilitarians do. Would you agree?
Since I am not a utilitarian I definitely agree! Although I am certainly not a follower of virtue ethics either.