Law’s defining trait is its capacity for foundational reordering, which cost-benefit analysis suppresses

Evidence

To commit to law is to have the power to remake it. Even the most philosophically nuanced defenders of costbenefi t analysis shy from this possibility. Matthew Adler and Eric Posner, for instance, avoid some of the most egregious overreachings of welfareeconomic analysis, yet they still end up coming close to an endorsement of its hegemonic tendencies. — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere, 616

Categorization

• DEFINE: Definitional contrast: law distinguished from economics by its latent power for foundationalist upheaval rather than marginal adjustment.
• XREF: connects to: Landmark environmental statutes aspired to constitutional-level transformation, not ordinary lawmaking — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental…, 640; Cost-benefit analysis normalizes the status quo and caps law at incremental tinkering — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental…, 615; Cost-benefit analysis narrows the questions environmental law can ask — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental…, 317 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Cost-benefit analysis narrows the questions environmental law can ask #exemplifies (0.90) — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere, 317
• Cost-benefit analysis causes the very distortions it claims to prevent #expands (0.85) — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere, 237