The great English economist Alfred Marshall 18421924 invente

The great English economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) invented many of the tools of modern economics, but he was most concerned with the application of these tools to the problems of society. In his inaugural lecture, Marshall wrote: It will be my most cherished ambition to increase the numbers who Cambridge University sends out into the world with cool heads but warm hearts, willing to give some of their best powers to grappling with the social suffering around them; resolved not to rest content till they have opened up to all the material means of a refined and noble life. (Memorials of Alfred Marshall, A.C. Pigou,ed. (MacMillans and Co. London 1925) p 174, with minor edits

Explain how the cool head might provide the essential positive economic analysis to implement the normative value judgements of the warm heart. Do you agree with Marshall\'s view of the role of the teacher? Do you agree with marshall\'s view of the role of the teacher? Do you accept his challenge?

Solution

Where there is a will, there is a ay. If we have decided to attain growth with equity, certainly we can. I would like to explain by some examples how cool head might provide the essential positive economic analysis to implement the normative value judgements of the warm heart.

When we are talking of economic systems, we can follow a mixed economy approach where basic goods are controlled by the governmnt and produced and distributed with social welfare motive. It includes food, clothing, shelther, education, health care of reasonalbe level. When it gets to world class education, world class health facilities, comforts, luxuries, cosmetics, cars, and other such things, these can be left ot private sector where profit can be the deciding factor. This sector will produce profits which will be used for upliftment of technology, standards and poor strata.

Poor strata should not be helped but needs to be empowered through education and skill development.

Main issue is not poverty because no one in this world is so helpless that he can\'t make a square meal. Main problem is lack of will and wrong thinking patterns. Hence we need ot combine economics with Sociology and psychology ot attain this goal. We need to motivate people to work for thier own upliftment.

A teacher is the only one who can change the world. As a teacher, I can take a challenge that none of the student taught by me can ever do injustice to anyone. It is so because I never concentrated on creating highest grades but on creating cooll heads with warm hearts. Only problem that you will face in doing so is that you need ot understand what warm heart and cool head is.

Warm heart does not mean donating heart, it means a heart which has abiity to create motivation of growth and happiness in one and all. Cool head thinks situations from all perspectives. He also considers that it will be wrong to give free facilities ot those who do not want ot work at all at the cost of hardworking strata of the scoeity. Keeping all this in mind, you need ot reach at a balancing policy.

If I fnd a poor person around me, I do not donate, first I check if he is poor due ot circumstances or due ot his mental disabilities. Accordingly I help. In first case, I work to improve his circumstances and in second I make an effort to change his mental patterns.