Yes, I had a few paragraphs on the potential indirect effects of treating mental health but decided to cut them out at last moment as (a) I wasn’t sure how many people would be interested in them and (b) the whole analysis is just extremely handwavey.
It’s possible that someone could think focusing on mental health/happiness now could have very long-run effects and would be justified primarily on the impact it would have to future people. This also applies to bednets, economic development etc. and it seems very hard to sensibly compare these things. My hunch is that if someone was taking this angle they would do more good by trying to get governments to measure policies by their SWB impact, rather than by treating more people for depression through developing world micro-interventions.
Yes, I had a few paragraphs on the potential indirect effects of treating mental health but decided to cut them out at last moment as (a) I wasn’t sure how many people would be interested in them and (b) the whole analysis is just extremely handwavey.
It’s possible that someone could think focusing on mental health/happiness now could have very long-run effects and would be justified primarily on the impact it would have to future people. This also applies to bednets, economic development etc. and it seems very hard to sensibly compare these things. My hunch is that if someone was taking this angle they would do more good by trying to get governments to measure policies by their SWB impact, rather than by treating more people for depression through developing world micro-interventions.