CST and Law & Economics at Yale

Like Michael, I am so pleased and inspired to hear about the response at Yale Law School to Eduardo's Catholic Social Thought class.  (During my three years at Yale, there were no law-and-religion classes -- not even from Stephen Carter -- taught).

With respect to Eduardo's question about Law & Econ:

Is it appropriate to use utilitarian analysis as part of one's process of reasoning towards the common good, or does doing so inevitably involve adopting the morally problematic underpinnings of utilitarianism, which seem to me to be wholly inconsistent with a Catholic approach?

I guess my answer would be "yes."  Then again, I do not share the view of many of my friends here at MOJ that Law & Econ needs to be framed as standing in opposition to a Catholic approach.  Certainly, Eduardo and I agree that utilitarianism cannot supply the fundamental moral principles that constrain our treatment of one another and that should guide our pursuit of the common good, properly understood.  But I think it is not only permissible, but important, to evaluate the costs and benefits of rules and policies, if only to assist us in prudential judgments about permissible options.  "Efficiency" is not the controlling principle, and being "efficient" does not excuse a policy's being contrary to human dignity.  That said, there is no virtue, it seems to me, in inefficiency and waste.