Chesterton “if a thing is worth doing it is worth doing badly”. In other words,
something is better than nothing.
374
Problem of Measurement
O to be torn twit love and duty.
375
The problem with measurement of net benefit has two aspects. First, many
items cannot be properly measured. Either they cannot be measured at all, or
they cannot be measured on a scale that is appropriate. This is the problem of
measurability or incommensurability. The second aspect flows from the first.
Because an item has one or other of these problems it cannot be properly
computed into net benefit. Since the law or meaning in question does not have
a properly computed net benefit it cannot be compared to other laws or
meanings which constitute the options before the decision maker. This is the
problem of comparability.
This is a problem because in the model proposed here everything that a human
can value must be included in determining the net benefit of an option. To
choose between options a decision maker such as a legislature or court selects
the effect whose net benefit possesses the highest value. In practice, however,
there is this major problem relating to measurability and comparability. Many
items are not measurable on any scale at all. This means that it is impossible to
tally up both costs and benefits, and impossible to subtract total cost from
total benefit. Consequently, options cannot be compared as the net benefit rule
requires.
Let us flesh this out. Three things are necessary in order to total costs and to
total benefits - to allocate a numerical value to all costs and benefits, to allocate
this value according to a single measure and for this measure to constitute a
ratio scale.
376
All of this is necessary to allow the following tasks to be
performed:
(1)
Adding all costs and benefits to yield total costs and total benefits for
each option.
(2)
Subtracting total costs from total benefits to yield the net benefit for
each option.
(3)
Comparing the value of the net benefit of one possible statute or
meaning against the value of the net benefit of any other statute or meaning in
the list of options.
___________________
374
GK Chesterton (1910) What's Wrong with World Part IV, Chapter xiv
375
Ned Washington High Noon. It was the theme song for the film of the same
name.
376
Howell (1997)
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