It’s time for politicians and bosses to prioritise beauty

{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":9.62,"text":"Marvel at the unspoilt glory of the highlands while you can. "},{"start":13.198999999999998,"text":"On Tuesday the UK revealed the winners of its latest auction for new wind farms, with all but four of the 22 onshore sites planned for Scotland. "}],[{"start":21.56,"text":"Also this week, Starlink launched another 21 satellites into low Earth orbit. "},{"start":26.589,"text":"It already has more than 6,000 up there, and the plan is for a “megaconstellation” comprising seven times as many. "},{"start":32.907,"text":"Your kids will never again see a clear night sky. "}],[{"start":36.8,"text":"I weep at such announcements — on aesthetic grounds alone. "},{"start":40.354,"text":"Where I live on the South Downs is one of only 21 designated international dark sky reserves in the world. "},{"start":45.958999999999996,"text":"When Elon Musk’s string of tin cans passes overhead, they almost cast a shadow. "}],[{"start":51.19,"text":"It amazes me that no one seems too bothered. "},{"start":54.169,"text":"My fellow kite surfers on the south coast of England think I’m crazy to moan that the Rampion offshore wind farm ruins my pristine view out to sea. "},{"start":61.662,"text":"Where are the marches against flashing advertising billboards? "}],[{"start":65.33,"text":"Governments care even less. "},{"start":67.422,"text":"Labour’s plan to build 1.5mn new homes is necessary, but minimising ugliness will be far down the agenda. "},{"start":74.089,"text":"Britain does many things well, but designing new houses is not one of them. "}],[{"start":79.28,"text":"Aesthetics usually succumbs to economic forces in the end. "},{"start":82.884,"text":"And against worthy goals such as reducing inequality or net zero, beauty doesn’t stand a chance. "},{"start":88.214,"text":"Who cares if Sardinia is skewered with thousands of turbines if global warming is reversed? "}],[{"start":94,"text":"I do. "},{"start":95.229,"text":"And so does Alessandra Todde, the Italian island’s president, who just declared an 18-month moratorium on their construction on the basis they make the place ugly. "},{"start":103.534,"text":"She is a brave politician who puts aesthetics above everything else, which is odd because non-financial objectives are on the rise elsewhere. "},{"start":110.627,"text":"As far back as 2011 the UN passed a resolution urging member nations to move “towards a holistic approach to development”. "},{"start":117.207,"text":"It called happiness “a fundamental human goal”. "}],[{"start":120.22,"text":"Likewise, the economist Richard Layard has argued that people’s “wellbeing” should be the ultimate aim of government. "},{"start":126.237,"text":"Meanwhile companies are desperate to be more ethical. "}],[{"start":129.54,"text":"However, as the 19th-century German philosopher GWF Hegel wrote, “truth and goodness are only siblings in beauty”. "},{"start":136.719,"text":"Indeed the link between aesthetics and pursuing a meaningful life goes all the way back to Plato. "},{"start":141.524,"text":"Even Friedrich Nietzsche admitted that “it is only as an aesthetic phenomenon that existence and the world are eternally justified”. "}],[{"start":148.6,"text":"If chief executives and politicians see the value of diversity, equity and inclusion, or saving spotted newts from development, why then isn’t beauty for beauty’s sake more revered? "}],[{"start":159.04999999999998,"text":"After all, as John Dobson, a professor of finance at California Polytechnic State University, points out, there are several respects in which aesthetics as a foundation for human activity is superior to economics and even ethics. "},{"start":171.904,"text":"He argues that economic objectives come with the baggage of wealth accumulation, while ethical goals require moral principles. "},{"start":178.47199999999998,"text":"Aesthetic interests, on the other hand, require “no further justification”. "}],[{"start":183.39999999999998,"text":"Second, there are no absolute rules for aesthetic judgment. "},{"start":187.19199999999998,"text":"I may consider white lines on empty country roads an eyesore — but others don’t, and fair enough. "},{"start":192.647,"text":"In this sense, aesthetics is non-prejudicial and inclusive. "},{"start":196.38899999999998,"text":"All angles can be considered and anyone can exercise judgment, no matter their gender or culture. "},{"start":201.45699999999997,"text":"How narrow and exclusive the profit motive is by comparison. "}],[{"start":205.76999999999998,"text":"Finally, Dobson notes that beauty is a good we generate in our own heads. "},{"start":210.31199999999998,"text":"Thus it is unlimited in supply and depletes no external resources in its making. "},{"start":214.71699999999998,"text":"Thousands of men can drool over the curves of a Jaguar E-Type yet their appreciation is never in competition. "}],[{"start":221.38,"text":"And there’s money in it. "},{"start":222.934,"text":"Apple’s multi-trillion-dollar market cap was born of Steve Jobs’ obsession with beautiful products. "},{"start":228.164,"text":"The total return of luxury goods maker LVMH is four times that of Bloomberg World index over the past two decades. "}],[{"start":235.72,"text":"Am I honestly saying we should prioritise aesthetics over growth and living standards? "},{"start":240.449,"text":"Yes — and even in developing countries. "},{"start":243.017,"text":"We’ll be happier for it and there is no trade-off anyway. "},{"start":245.934,"text":"Human progress thrives on constraints. "},{"start":248.264,"text":"No one will suffer and what a reason to exist! "}],[{"start":251.82999999999998,"text":"We can always improve our aesthetic judgment, too. "},{"start":255.022,"text":"Yet Britain has cut its arts funding by almost a fifth since 2017, while splurging £250mn on athletes for Paris. "}],[{"start":263.45,"text":"So more painters and design schools please, and fewer Olympic canoers and spreadsheets. "},{"start":268.61699999999996,"text":"And as voters and shareholders, we must never be embarrassed to say: “That hilltop of solar panels is ugly. "},{"start":274.622,"text":"Remove them now. ”"}],[{"start":275.92,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftmailbox.cn/album/170499-1725705734.mp3"}