Soon well-behaved youth in Vancouver will be receiving rewards for not being naughty. Catchy as it might sound, this idea rests on inherently faulty principles. The reward for good conduct is a just and peaceful society. This is the essence of society itself: the productive co-operation of individuals and families for the common good. Infringement of the social rules leads instead to punishment and sometimes ejection from the social order (jail).
Giving youngsters goodies for being well-behaved is a very simplistic approach to human thinking, because it assumes that the human mind is unable to appreciate the value of abstract concepts such as social peace and prosperity, but is concerned only with personal satisfaction. Thus you teach a whole generation to EXPECT a reward for good conduct.
When they stop getting this reward good conduct will lose its worth in their eyes, and its value will be defined only in terms of avoiding the punishment that is consequential to bad conduct. Either we create a faultless clockwork justice system or society will deteriorate.
Monkey does something funny - monkey gets banana. Monkey makes noise - monkey gets a water jet. What will happen when we run out of bananas?
We have evolved from that stage, and rather than bribing youngsters into good social conduct the schools and parents should inculcate some civic pride and some appreciation for law and mutual benefit.
2 comments:
"Giving youngsters goodies for being well-behaved is a very simplistic approach to human thinking"
Maybe you should try telling that to your father... FATHER CHRISTMAS!
Christmas is once a year. As is a birthday. And as far as I know no state has ever given me a Christmas present. Or a birthday present for that matter.
Buying good behaviour with goodies is like rewarding your pet. Just like saying that someone will get their Christmas present just because they are well-behaved. Giving on important occasions is a sign of care, not just a reward.
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