Publisher's Synopsis
Everyone wants a good life. Yet so much of life is down to luck. Over the last few years, I have worked for the New Zealand Government, in various agencies, and various roles. It has led me to question how policy was actually directed to help people live better lives. This curiosity was piqued after the 2017 election, when the Prime Minister promised to change how Government works and a renewed focus on wellbeing which began in 2019 with the first Wellbeing Budget. I wondered what policy production should look like. How do we make sure that we achieve wellbeing and reduce the barriers to a good life for people? After all, the business of government 'seems necessarily confined to the removal of obstacles', so how do you do it?1 How can you get rid of bad luck and how do you provide people with the bare minimum to achieve wellbeing? Then I suddenly had a thesis idea. It rapidly turned into this - A virtue ethical approach to public policy: Promoting wellbeing through human capabilities. This thesis should convince you that the b
