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Everyone acts as if "evidence-based policy" is a good way to govern, but I actually don't think it is. Laws should be decided based on principles, not evidence

Everyone acts as if "evidence-based policy" is a good way to govern, but I actually don't think it is. Laws should be decided based on principles, not evidence. There's a great Mitchell and Webb sketch to this effect: Kill the Poor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owI7DOeO_yg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owI7DOeO_yg

Arkhaine_kupo 7y ago
I mean, the evidence is meant to be used to back some principles. For example, I am proponent of evidence based policy and I am also an advocate of mental health help. There is a lot of pseudo science and easy feel good stuff but there is also a lot of really good behaviour therapy out there. One works, one is muck, and I think tax dollars should be used to fund the one that works because people deserve to not be depressed
fouc 7y ago
I agree laws should be based on principles, but I do wonder where to draw the line. I've noticed that any system that is built up from axiomatic principles and reasoning usually ends up out of touch with reality as well. It's likely we need to have evidence feeding back into a principled-based system.
rrmm 7y ago
I think principles decide what you do about the evidence (and even what evidence needs to be collected) to accomplish your goals. The goals themselves derive from principles. Evidence-based governance can give you gas chambers or head-start pre-K programs depending on what you're trying to accomplish.
paganel 7y ago
> Laws should be decided based on principles, not evidence. Agree 100%. It has become my recent understanding that "evidence-based policy" is a more sanitised, technocratic way of carrying out good old-fashioned eugenics policies.
majos 7y ago
The problem with principles is they don’t tell you much about consequences. We might all agree that we should help very poor people in region X, but what will actually help most? Micro loans, micro loans with coaching, unconditional lump sum cash at random, unconditional lump sum cash to targeted promising candidates, free schools, schools with small fees? We can’t know how the different effects of these things compare from a principled argument. That’s where evidence is useful.

Arkhaine_kupo 7y ago

I mean, the evidence is meant to be used to back some principles. For example, I am proponent of evidence based policy and I am also an advocate of mental health help. There is a lot of pseudo science and easy feel good stuff but there is also a lot of really good behaviour therapy out there. One works, one is muck, and I think tax dollars should be used to fund the one that works because people deserve to not be depressed

fouc 7y ago

I agree laws should be based on principles, but I do wonder where to draw the line. I've noticed that any system that is built up from axiomatic principles and reasoning usually ends up out of touch with reality as well. It's likely we need to have evidence feeding back into a principled-based system.

rrmm 7y ago

I think principles decide what you do about the evidence (and even what evidence needs to be collected) to accomplish your goals. The goals themselves derive from principles. Evidence-based governance can give you gas chambers or head-start pre-K programs depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

paganel 7y ago

> Laws should be decided based on principles, not evidence. Agree 100%. It has become my recent understanding that "evidence-based policy" is a more sanitised, technocratic way of carrying out good old-fashioned eugenics policies.

majos 7y ago

The problem with principles is they don’t tell you much about consequences. We might all agree that we should help very poor people in region X, but what will actually help most? Micro loans, micro loans with coaching, unconditional lump sum cash at random, unconditional lump sum cash to targeted promising candidates, free schools, schools with small fees? We can’t know how the different effects of these things compare from a principled argument. That’s where evidence is useful.