The Tyranny of Big Ideas in Environmental Policy.

abstract

Many big ideas in U.S. environmental policy have roots in natural science (e.g., “climate change”) or social science (e.g., “market failure” – Kahn 1966).  Once adopted as focal points by Congress and federal agencies, big ideas have enormous influence on scientific paradigms (Kuhn 1962), research funding priorities, and public policy.  At times, the influence of big ideas becomes tyrannical and induces irrational behavior in both scientific and policy communities.  Science has traditions and mechanisms that eventually require scrutiny and correction of ideas that acquire undue influence.  Environmental policy distributes its attention and resources among competing ideas in response to diverse influences including court decisions, public opinion, environmental accidents, economic considerations, international relations, and (occasionally) science.      

• Kahn, Alfred E.  1966. The tyranny of small decisions: market failures, imperfections, and the limits of economics. Kyklos, 19:23-47.
• Kuhn, Thomas S. 1962.  The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.  The University of Chicago Press.