Feathers or Gold? A Civic Economics for Environmental Law

Abstract

For too long environmental policy debates have been stymied by an unproductive tension between moral advocates and market advocates, or, as I imagine the conflict, between the philosophies of Feathers and Gold. Crafting a framework in which both ethics and economics can contribute will require a creative response based on a civic commitment forged in pragmatic theory. First this article examines the philosophical history of liberal economics and the practical application of liberal economics to natural resources. Second, it offers a critique of liberal economics in the environmental context, noting its tendency to frustrate political values, to trivialize ethical concerns, and to encourage unfair distributions of environmental harm across geographic space and across time. Third, it examines the principles of ethical environmentalism. The discussion praises ethical environmentalism's ability to capture historic tradition and diverse public views, but concedes its limited utility in making tough policy choices. Fourth, it proposes one way that economics and ethics might be understood as more compatible. Drawing from ideas of pragmatism, the discussion suggests four principles that should accompany any economic consideration of environmental policy.