I went to a seminar yesterday. A government funded group had compiled tons of GIS (geograhpical information system basically high quality maps), environmental, and land usage data and people to know about it. The overriding question from the presenters (and the audience) was what do we do with this information to ensure Virginia's environmental sustainability?
One professor made the comment that state agency, environmental groups, and citizen preferences had to be balanced. (I did not ask how could a state agency have preferences, but I should have.) Basically the discussion kept going in circles. Some wanted the preferences of farmers to have the highest weight. Others wanted the ecologist and environmental groups preferences. In the end, nothing was solved. The conclusion was "it is complicated."
But nobody cared about the private owner. No one questioned whether the state had the right to own property.
Positivism cannot answer the fundamental questions of governance. But positivists will try.
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