There's more to life than money, says Cameron

I keep reading David Cameron saying things I like and I have to pinch myself: this is a Conservative leader saying things like:

"Our goal is clear: to move beyond a belief in the Protestant work ethic alone to a modern vision of ethical work."

But there's a voice that says "where's the catch; this is the Conservatives, after all."
Well, the catch would appear to be that David just wants to talk people into it but not actually have a go at regulating or doing something that would reduce the wiggle room for those who don't want to do the right thing because it's not profitable or because they don't do trendy.

Government must not ignore these issues, but equally should not seek to impose ethical working practice through regulation. Instead, a Tory administration would act as an "advocate for progress", talking up good initiatives and drawing attention to bad practice.

In other words; we'll tell you it's good but we won't do anything except lecture you: is this the same people who lampooned student politics for making gestures but no practical difference? Cameron is right about advocacy [we used to call it education] but it needs to be more than that. For the poorest in society shopping ethically is not very easy unless there are governmental measures in place to make products that have been produced in more ethical ways competitive [because doing it unethically is usually cheaper in terms of the individual company's bottom line, unhappily] or to reimpose externalities on the less ethically produced stuff, it is doomed to be middle class hobbyism.

I agree with the Lib Dem spokesbeing who said,

"These are important issues, but it is far from clear that Mr Cameron has any serious alternative measures to indicate national performance.It is yet another example of posturing without substance. Once again, vague positioning has taken precedence over spelling out concrete policies."

Which is exactly the Tories' criticism in years past of student bodies passing resolutions condemning apartheid or USAmerican intervention in Nicaragua. I suspect, given his age, Cameron was one of them.

Could do better, must try harder.
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