What is the relevance of ethics to national development?

Answer 1

The purpose of national development organizations is to create and support programs that will improve the lives of people. Each culture or social group has developed its own way of doing things, and the success of a national development initiative may depend on introducing changes to the traditions or usual practices. Mutual understanding is the best way to begin such a process. Too often, our human instinct is to assign "good" or "bad" labels based on what we ourselves are familiar with. But there are universal ethical "goods" that can form the basis of shared goals: reducing hunger, pain and suffering; improving health, education, and productivity; expanding economic opportunities; reducing violence and crime; protecting the environment.

Most importantly, anyone leading a national development effort must be motivated by the mission to improve others' lives. Anyone whose main purpose is to enrich himself or herself at the expense of others, should probably be encouraged to find a different occupation.