Beyond GDP: Measuring Prosperity in an Islamic Moral Economy – Part 2

The Islamic Economic Renaissance Papers

An AFRIEF Flagship Policy Series

Paper No. 4

Beyond GDP: Measuring Prosperity in an Islamic Moral Economy

With this paper, The Islamic Economist concludes The Islamic Economic Renaissance Papers—the fourth installment in AFRIEF’s flagship policy series. Over the course of this series, we have sought to stimulate critical reflection on the foundations of contemporary economic thought and to advance an Islamic moral economy as a credible framework for addressing the challenges of our time. In this concluding paper, Beyond GDP: Measuring Prosperity in an Islamic Moral Economy, we argue that genuine prosperity cannot be reduced to economic output alone. Rather, it must be measured by the extent to which societies promote justice, human dignity, ethical governance, social cohesion, environmental stewardship, and shared well-being. We trust that this series will contribute meaningfully to the ongoing global conversation on building a more just, inclusive, and morally grounded economic order. –Editor

Learning from Alternative Development Indicators

The growing dissatisfaction with Gross Domestic Product has not gone unnoticed within the international development community. Over the past several decades, economists, policymakers and multilateral institutions have increasingly recognised that economic output alone cannot adequately describe the well-being of nations. A variety of alternative indicators have therefore emerged in an effort to capture dimensions of development that GDP overlooks. Collectively, these initiatives represent an important intellectual shift away from purely economic measurement towards a broader understanding of human progress.

Their emergence reflects a significant admission: prosperity is multidimensional. Human beings aspire not merely to higher incomes but also to better health, quality education, personal security, meaningful employment, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and lives of dignity and purpose. Development, consequently, must be understood as the expansion of human capabilities rather than the simple accumulation of wealth.

Perhaps the most influential of these alternatives is the Human Development Index (HDI), introduced by the United Nations Development Programme. Inspired by the pioneering work of economist Amartya Sen and Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, the HDI broadened the development debate by incorporating life expectancy, educational attainment and income into a composite index of human development. It challenged the assumption that national prosperity could be inferred solely from economic production and redirected attention towards the capabilities that enable individuals to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

The significance of the HDI extends beyond its statistical methodology. It represented one of the first major attempts to restore human beings to the centre of development policy. Countries with modest incomes but strong investments in education and healthcare could outperform wealthier nations whose social outcomes remained comparatively weak. In doing so, the HDI demonstrated that economic growth and human development, while closely related, are not identical.

Other initiatives have expanded this broader conception of prosperity. The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) seeks to distinguish between economic activities that genuinely enhance welfare and those that merely increase monetary transactions. Unlike GDP, it attempts to account for income inequality, environmental degradation, the depletion of natural resources, unpaid household labour and the social costs associated with crime and pollution. By recognising that some forms of economic activity impose hidden costs upon society, the GPI offers a more nuanced understanding of development than conventional national accounting.

Similarly, the Social Progress Index evaluates countries according to their ability to satisfy basic human needs, provide opportunities for personal advancement and establish the social foundations necessary for well-being. Rather than focusing primarily on economic variables, it examines outcomes related to nutrition, healthcare, education, personal safety, access to information, environmental quality and individual rights. Its underlying premise is that genuine progress should ultimately be assessed by improvements in people’s lives rather than by increases in national income alone.

Among the most widely discussed alternatives is Bhutan’s concept of Gross National Happiness. Although developed within a Buddhist cultural context, it has attracted global attention because it explicitly challenges the assumption that material wealth alone constitutes development. By incorporating psychological well-being, cultural preservation, environmental conservation, community vitality and good governance into national planning, Bhutan sought to align public policy with a more holistic conception of human flourishing.

Likewise, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) introduced the Better Life Index to encourage comparative assessments of well-being across dimensions such as housing, employment, education, health, civic engagement, environmental quality and work-life balance. Its multidimensional approach reflects a growing international consensus that economic prosperity cannot be divorced from broader social and institutional conditions.

Taken together, these initiatives represent an important evolution in development thinking. They acknowledge that human welfare cannot be adequately captured through market transactions alone and that governments require broader metrics to guide public policy. They deserve recognition for expanding the intellectual boundaries of economics and for challenging the excessive reliance upon GDP that characterised much of the twentieth century.

Yet despite their considerable strengths, these alternative indicators continue to exhibit important limitations. Most remain collections of valuable statistical variables rather than expressions of an integrated philosophy of civilisation. They identify important dimensions of human welfare but provide limited guidance regarding the moral principles that should govern economic life. They measure outcomes more effectively than they explain purposes.

This distinction is crucial. Development indicators inevitably reflect normative assumptions about what societies ought to value. Selecting education, health or environmental quality as indicators already involves moral judgement. The question therefore is not whether measurement should incorporate values, but whose values should shape the framework. Modern development indices frequently rely upon broad humanitarian principles without grounding them within a comprehensive ethical worldview capable of resolving tensions between competing objectives.

Consider, for example, the relationship between economic growth and environmental protection, individual freedom and social responsibility, technological innovation and moral accountability, or private wealth and distributive justice. Statistical indicators alone cannot determine how these competing priorities should be balanced. Such judgments require an overarching philosophy of human purpose and social order.

It is precisely here that the Islamic moral economy offers a distinctive contribution. The Maqasid al-Shariah provide not simply a list of desirable outcomes but a coherent hierarchy of objectives rooted in revelation and refined through centuries of juristic reflection. They establish an ethical architecture within which economic activity, social development and political governance acquire meaning. Justice, compassion, stewardship, accountability and human dignity are not optional aspirations added to economic policy after growth has been achieved; they constitute the very criteria by which prosperity is assessed.

Consequently, an Islamic framework for measuring development differs fundamentally from many contemporary alternatives. It does not merely aggregate indicators from diverse sectors of society. It evaluates whether those indicators collectively advance the higher objectives for which human civilisation exists. Material abundance is assessed alongside distributive justice. Educational achievement is considered together with moral formation. Environmental performance is understood through the lens of stewardship. Institutional effectiveness is inseparable from accountability and trust. Economic policy becomes an instrument for achieving falah—comprehensive human flourishing in this world and ultimate success in the Hereafter.

This integrated perspective enables Islamic economics to transcend the longstanding debate between growth and welfare. It recognises that prosperous societies require both productive economies and virtuous institutions, both wealth creation and ethical restraint, both innovation and social solidarity. Development becomes the balanced advancement of all those dimensions that enable individuals, families and communities to fulfil their responsibilities before Allah while contributing positively to the common good.

The challenge, therefore, is not to replace one imperfect index with another. It is to construct a framework capable of integrating economic, social, environmental, institutional and spiritual dimensions into a single, coherent vision of prosperity. Such a framework must remain sufficiently rigorous to inform public policy while remaining faithful to the ethical foundations of the Islamic moral economy.

It is in response to this challenge that AFRIEF proposes the Islamic Prosperity Framework—a multidimensional model rooted in the Maqasid al-Shariah, designed to measure not merely the wealth that societies produce but the civilisation they cultivate. Rather than asking only how fast an economy grows, the framework asks whether that growth strengthens justice, expands opportunity, protects creation, nurtures moral responsibility and advances the comprehensive well-being of humanity.

The AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework (AIPF)

Having established the conceptual limitations of GDP and examined the growing body of alternative development indicators, the question naturally arises: what should an Islamic framework for measuring prosperity look like? Critique alone cannot transform public policy. If Islamic economics aspires to guide the future rather than merely comment upon the present, it must provide governments, development institutions and communities with practical instruments through which the principles of the Maqasid al-Shariah can be translated into measurable realities.

It is in response to this challenge that AFRIEF proposes the Islamic Prosperity Framework (AIPF)—a comprehensive model for assessing national development within the context of an Islamic moral economy. The framework does not seek to replace conventional economic statistics. Measures such as GDP, inflation, productivity and employment remain valuable tools for understanding the performance of an economy. Their weakness lies not in what they measure but in what they omit. The AIPF therefore incorporates economic performance within a broader architecture of human flourishing, ensuring that wealth is evaluated alongside justice, dignity, stewardship and moral responsibility.

At the heart of the framework lies a simple but transformative proposition: the true wealth of a nation is measured not only by the resources it produces but by the people it develops, the institutions it builds, the justice it secures and the values it preserves. Economic growth is an essential pillar of prosperity, but it is only one pillar. A civilisation stands securely only when all of its pillars are strong.

The AIPF therefore organises national prosperity around seven mutually reinforcing dimensions, each derived from the higher objectives of the Maqasid al-Shariah and informed by contemporary development realities.

The first dimension is Economic Justice and Shared Prosperity. A productive economy remains indispensable, but the framework asks whether wealth creation is inclusive, ethically generated and broadly distributed. It examines the quality of employment, financial inclusion, support for entrepreneurship, opportunities for young people, resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the extent to which economic growth reduces rather than reinforces structural inequality. Particular attention is given to the circulation of wealth throughout society, reflecting the Qur’anic principle that prosperity should not become the exclusive preserve of a privileged minority.

The second dimension is Human Development and Capability. Prosperity ultimately depends upon the development of human beings rather than the accumulation of physical capital alone. This dimension evaluates educational quality, scientific research, technological innovation, healthcare outcomes, nutrition, public health, digital literacy and lifelong learning. A nation rich in natural resources but poor in knowledge cannot sustain long-term development. Human capability remains the most valuable productive asset any society possesses.

The third dimension is Ethical Governance and Institutional Integrity. Islamic civilisation has always recognised that justice is impossible without trustworthy institutions. Consequently, the framework evaluates transparency, accountability, judicial effectiveness, public confidence in institutions, the control of corruption, efficient public administration and the rule of law. Economic prosperity cannot endure where contracts are ignored, public resources are misappropriated or institutions lack credibility. Trust itself becomes a measurable form of national capital.

The fourth dimension is Social Solidarity and Community Well-being. Markets generate wealth, but communities generate resilience. This dimension assesses family stability, social cohesion, volunteerism, charitable giving, civic participation, protection of vulnerable groups and the strength of mutual support networks. It also considers the vitality of institutions such as waqf, zakat and other forms of organised social solidarity that have historically reduced poverty and strengthened communities throughout the Muslim world. Prosperity is measured not only by the income individuals earn but by the willingness of society to ensure that no one is abandoned to hardship.

The fifth dimension is Environmental Stewardship and Intergenerational Responsibility. Humanity does not own creation; it holds it in trust. Economic activity must therefore be evaluated according to its impact upon natural ecosystems, biodiversity, water resources, climate resilience, renewable energy adoption and sustainable consumption. The framework rejects the illusion that environmental destruction constitutes economic progress simply because it generates commercial transactions. Instead, it recognises environmental preservation as an investment in the welfare of future generations and an expression of humanity’s responsibility as khalifah upon the earth.

The sixth dimension is Knowledge, Innovation and Civilizational Creativity. Throughout Islamic history, scientific inquiry, intellectual curiosity and technological advancement were regarded as acts of service to both humanity and the Creator. The AIPF therefore measures investment in research, higher education, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, cultural production and indigenous innovation. Nations become prosperous not merely by consuming knowledge produced elsewhere but by contributing new ideas, technologies and institutions to the advancement of civilisation itself.

The seventh and integrating dimension is Moral and Spiritual Well-being. This is the dimension that distinguishes the Islamic Prosperity Framework most clearly from every existing development index. Human beings are not merely economic actors or consumers; they are moral beings endowed with conscience, responsibility and purpose. While spiritual realities cannot be reduced to simplistic numerical scores, societies can assess the strength of ethical conduct, public trust, integrity in commerce, respect for human dignity, responsible leadership, protection of religious freedom, compassion towards the vulnerable and the prevalence of civic virtues that sustain social harmony. The objective is not to measure personal piety but to evaluate whether public life reflects the moral values upon which enduring civilisation depends.

These seven dimensions are not independent variables competing for policy attention. They function as an integrated ecosystem. Ethical governance strengthens economic confidence. Better education stimulates innovation. Social solidarity reduces inequality. Environmental stewardship safeguards future prosperity. Moral responsibility reinforces institutional trust. Together they create a virtuous cycle in which material development and ethical development reinforce one another rather than pulling in opposite directions.

Unlike conventional development models that frequently force governments to choose between economic efficiency and social justice, the AIPF rejects such false dichotomies. Justice is not an obstacle to prosperity; it is one of its principal causes. Environmental responsibility does not weaken development; it preserves the natural foundations upon which future development depends. Ethical governance does not constrain markets; it enhances confidence, reduces transaction costs and encourages productive investment. In an Islamic moral economy, the objectives of economic policy are not in competition but in harmony.

The practical implications of this framework are considerable. Governments could employ the AIPF as a national planning instrument, integrating its indicators into development strategies, annual budgets and long-term national visions. Development banks and sovereign wealth funds could evaluate investments not solely by financial returns but also by their contribution to human capability, institutional strengthening and environmental stewardship. Municipal authorities could monitor community resilience alongside infrastructure development. Universities and research institutions could generate data that enables policymakers to assess the comprehensive well-being of society rather than merely its economic output.

More importantly, the AIPF shifts the fundamental question of development. Instead of asking, “How much did the economy grow this year?” policymakers are encouraged to ask a more profound question: “Did our society become more just, more knowledgeable, more compassionate, more resilient and more faithful to its moral responsibilities?” Growth remains important, but it is evaluated according to the civilisation it produces rather than the statistics it generates.

In this sense, the AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework is more than a development index. It is a statement of civilizational intent. It affirms that the success of nations cannot ultimately be measured by the size of their economies alone, but by the quality of the human beings they nurture, the institutions they sustain and the moral legacy they leave for future generations. Only when measurement reflects these higher purposes can economics become a genuine instrument of human flourishing and civilizational renewal.

From Measurement to Transformation: Embedding the Islamic Prosperity Framework in Public Policy

The value of any development framework lies not merely in its conceptual elegance but in its capacity to influence public policy. Statistics do not transform societies by their existence alone. They become instruments of change only when they shape the decisions of governments, influence the allocation of public resources and redefine the objectives of national development. The AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework is therefore intended not simply as an academic model but as a practical architecture for governance in the twenty-first century.

History demonstrates that what governments choose to measure inevitably influences what they choose to pursue. When GDP became the dominant indicator of national performance, public policy naturally gravitated towards expanding production, stimulating consumption and increasing investment. Ministries of finance, central banks and international institutions organised their priorities around the continuous pursuit of economic growth because growth had become the accepted definition of progress. The indicators shaped the policies, and the policies shaped the societies.

An Islamic moral economy requires a similar transformation of public priorities. If prosperity is understood as the balanced advancement of justice, knowledge, health, environmental stewardship, institutional integrity and social solidarity alongside economic growth, then these objectives must become measurable components of national planning. What is measured systematically is managed deliberately. What is ignored statistically is often neglected politically.

Embedding the AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework within public policy therefore begins with a change in institutional mindset. Governments must cease treating social development, ethical governance and environmental sustainability as secondary programmes to be pursued only after economic growth has been achieved. Instead, they should recognise these dimensions as productive assets that strengthen long-term economic resilience and civilizational stability. Justice is not a cost of development; it is one of its principal drivers. Trust is not a social luxury; it is an economic resource. Knowledge is not simply a public service; it is the foundation of national competitiveness.

National development strategies should consequently be organised around integrated prosperity rather than sectoral expansion. Ministries responsible for finance, education, healthcare, agriculture, industry, technology and the environment should no longer operate as isolated administrative silos pursuing disconnected objectives. Their policies should be coordinated through a common framework that evaluates whether each contributes to the broader goals of the Maqasid al-Shariah. Economic policy would thus become inseparable from human development, institutional reform and environmental stewardship.

Public budgeting likewise requires a fundamental reorientation. Annual budgets should not be evaluated solely by their fiscal balance or their contribution to GDP growth. Governments should examine how public expenditure advances the seven dimensions of the Islamic Prosperity Framework. Investments in preventive healthcare, quality education, judicial reform, digital infrastructure, environmental conservation, scientific research and community development should be recognised not merely as expenditures but as investments in the productive capacity and moral resilience of society. Such an approach encourages policymakers to consider the long-term civilizational returns of public spending rather than focusing exclusively on immediate economic outputs.

The framework also provides a new basis for evaluating public institutions. Ministries and agencies should be assessed not only according to administrative efficiency but also according to their contribution to justice, transparency, public trust and service delivery. Performance management would therefore extend beyond financial indicators to encompass ethical conduct, citizen satisfaction, institutional integrity and social impact. Governments would increasingly be judged by the quality of governance they provide rather than by the quantity of expenditure they administer.

Financial institutions have an equally significant role to play. Central banks, Islamic financial institutions, development banks and sovereign wealth funds should progressively integrate prosperity indicators into investment appraisal and national financing strategies. Infrastructure projects, industrial policies and public-private partnerships ought to be evaluated not only for their financial viability but also for their contribution to employment, environmental sustainability, regional inclusion, technological advancement and social cohesion. Capital allocation thus becomes aligned with the higher objectives of development rather than confined to short-term economic returns.

The private sector also assumes a broader responsibility within this framework. Businesses remain indispensable engines of innovation, employment and wealth creation, but their contribution to prosperity extends beyond profitability alone. Enterprises should increasingly be recognised for generating decent work, investing in employee development, protecting the environment, strengthening local supply chains and upholding the highest standards of commercial integrity. Profit and purpose become complementary rather than competing objectives.

Equally important is the role of civil society. Throughout Islamic history, many of the institutions that sustained education, healthcare, poverty alleviation and community welfare emerged from society itself through waqf, zakat, charitable endowments and voluntary associations. The Islamic Prosperity Framework therefore recognises that governments cannot build flourishing societies in isolation. Families, religious institutions, professional bodies, universities, cooperatives and community organisations all contribute to the social capital upon which resilient nations depend. Prosperity is ultimately a shared responsibility rather than an exclusively governmental function.

Modern technology provides unprecedented opportunities to operationalise such a comprehensive framework. Advances in digital governance, artificial intelligence, geospatial analytics and integrated national data systems enable governments to monitor social outcomes with levels of precision unimaginable only a generation ago. Properly governed and ethically deployed, these technologies can assist policymakers in tracking educational outcomes, healthcare access, environmental conditions, employment trends and regional inequalities in real time, allowing timely interventions before social challenges become national crises. Technology should therefore be viewed not merely as an instrument of efficiency but as a means of enhancing justice, transparency and accountability.

International development institutions may likewise find value in adopting elements of this broader approach. Although the AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework is rooted in the ethical vision of Islam, many of its underlying principles—human dignity, justice, responsible stewardship, institutional integrity and shared prosperity—possess universal significance. In an increasingly interconnected world facing common challenges such as climate change, inequality, demographic pressures and technological disruption, development frameworks that integrate ethical considerations with economic performance offer insights that transcend religious and cultural boundaries.

Ultimately, the adoption of the Islamic Prosperity Framework requires more than administrative reform. It requires intellectual renewal. Policymakers, economists and development practitioners must recover the understanding that economics is not an autonomous science detached from morality but a branch of human knowledge concerned with the organisation of resources in the service of human flourishing. Markets are powerful instruments, but they require ethical direction. Governments are necessary institutions, but they require moral legitimacy. Wealth is indispensable, but it must remain a servant of civilisation rather than its master.

The greatest contribution of the AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework may therefore be its capacity to reshape the questions that guide public policy. Instead of asking only whether economies are becoming larger, governments are invited to ask whether societies are becoming wiser, fairer, healthier, more compassionate and more resilient. Instead of measuring only what nations produce, they begin measuring what nations become.

Such a transformation would represent more than an improvement in development statistics. It would signal the emergence of a new paradigm of governance—one in which economic policy is judged by its contribution to justice, opportunity, dignity and the comprehensive well-being of present and future generations. In that transformation lies the true promise of an Islamic moral economy.

Conclusion: Redefining Prosperity for a New Civilizational Era

The history of economic thought is, in many respects, the history of what societies choose to measure. Every civilization develops indicators that reflect its deepest values, its highest aspirations and its understanding of what constitutes a successful society. Measurement is therefore never a neutral technical exercise. It is an expression of philosophy. It reveals what a people honour, what they pursue and ultimately what they become.

For much of the modern era, Gross Domestic Product has fulfilled this role. It has provided governments with a valuable measure of economic production and has contributed significantly to macroeconomic management, fiscal planning and international comparison. Its usefulness as an accounting instrument is beyond dispute. The mistake has been to elevate it into the principal measure of national prosperity. In doing so, modern economics has often confused the expansion of markets with the advancement of civilization.

The consequences of this confusion are increasingly visible. Societies have become wealthier while inequality persists. Economies have grown larger while communities have become more fragmented. Technological progress has accelerated while environmental degradation has intensified. Consumption has expanded, yet loneliness, anxiety and declining public trust have become defining features of many modern societies. These realities do not suggest that economic growth is unimportant. Rather, they demonstrate that growth alone cannot answer the deeper question of what it means for a nation to flourish.

Islamic economics offers a more comprehensive answer. It refuses to separate material prosperity from moral responsibility, economic efficiency from social justice, or individual success from collective well-being. Through the Maqasid al-Shariah, it presents a conception of development in which wealth is valued because of the higher purposes it serves: preserving life, cultivating knowledge, strengthening families, protecting human dignity, advancing justice and safeguarding the trust of creation for future generations. In this vision, prosperity is not measured by accumulation alone but by transformation—by the extent to which economic activity contributes to the flourishing of humanity under the guidance of divine principles.

The AFRIEF Islamic Prosperity Framework represents an effort to translate this timeless vision into a practical instrument for contemporary governance. It does not reject economic growth, nor does it diminish the importance of productivity, innovation or enterprise. On the contrary, it recognises these as indispensable foundations of development. Its contribution lies in restoring them to their proper place within a broader moral architecture. By integrating economic performance with human capability, ethical governance, social solidarity, environmental stewardship, knowledge creation and moral well-being, the framework seeks to measure not simply the wealth that nations produce but the civilization they build.

This shift in perspective has profound implications. When governments begin measuring justice alongside growth, they are more likely to pursue inclusive policies. When they measure environmental stewardship alongside industrial output, they are more likely to protect the natural world entrusted to them. When they assess institutional integrity alongside fiscal performance, they strengthen public confidence. When they evaluate education not merely by enrolment but by the cultivation of knowledge, character and creativity, they invest in the future rather than merely managing the present. In this way, better measurement becomes the catalyst for better governance.

Yet the significance of this paper extends beyond technical reform. It invites a fundamental rethinking of development itself. The central question facing nations should no longer be, “How large is our economy?” but rather, “What kind of society are we becoming?” Are we producing citizens of integrity or merely consumers of goods? Are we nurturing communities bound together by compassion and justice, or societies divided by exclusion and inequality? Are we preserving the earth as trustees, or exhausting it as owners? Are we building institutions that command trust, or systems that deepen cynicism? These are the questions that determine the destiny of civilizations, and they are questions that GDP alone can never answer.

The twenty-first century presents humanity with unprecedented opportunities and equally unprecedented challenges. Climate change, demographic transitions, technological disruption, widening inequality and declining trust in institutions cannot be addressed through economic growth alone. They require a richer understanding of prosperity—one that integrates material progress with ethical purpose. In this regard, the Islamic moral economy is not merely relevant to Muslim societies; it offers insights of universal significance. Its insistence that economics should serve humanity rather than dominate it speaks to a world increasingly aware of the limitations of purely material measures of success.

The task before scholars, policymakers and development practitioners is therefore not simply to improve economic statistics. It is to recover a vision of development worthy of the human person. Such a vision recognises that prosperity is ultimately measured in lives enriched, opportunities expanded, justice secured, knowledge advanced, families strengthened, creation protected and moral responsibility upheld. These are the enduring foundations upon which great civilizations have always been built.

Beyond GDP lies not merely a new index of development but a new philosophy of progress. It is a philosophy that understands wealth as a trust rather than an entitlement, power as a responsibility rather than a privilege, and economic activity as a means of serving humanity in obedience to Allah. It is this philosophy that the Islamic moral economy seeks to revive.

The future of development will not be determined solely by those who generate the greatest wealth. It will belong to those who most successfully align economic achievement with justice, knowledge, compassion, stewardship and human dignity. The nations that learn to measure these qualities—and to build public policy around them—will not only become more prosperous; they will become more resilient, more humane and more enduring.

The challenge before our generation is therefore both simple and profound. We must move beyond measuring economies to cultivating civilizations. Only then can prosperity become what it was always meant to be: not the abundance of things, but the flourishing of people under the guidance of moral truth.