Economic Value, the Value of Economics, and the Meaning of Life
Author(s)
Coursey, Don
Abstract
To many, my conclusions about species value seem at odds with the basic instinct that all life is worth saving. This is what makes public policy involving economic valuation of life so difficult. The fundamental notions of budgets, opportunity costs, and trade-offs become complicated when they are publicly applied to the value of life. What’s missing is the anchoring of endangered species protection within the human and natural economy, rather than within absolutist, moral rhetoric. The choices we face require an accounting of the benefits and costs of various programs for saving endangered species. But under the current Endangered Species Act regime, the discrimination is done by lawyers and judges rather than a Congress that looks at the impact of choices on the quality of public life. A new process based upon broader public debate, and focusing on real costs and science, should supplant the existing system.
