Value Trade-off

The dilemma of "value trade-off" (VTO) stems from the combined difficulties of "normative pluralism" (i.e., the ever-present possibility of conflicts among values within one moral system) and incommensurability (i.e., the lack of a common unit to measure relative gains and losses in the implementation of different values). The problem thus defined is common to a broad range of practices and disciplines, and the identification of its formal structure could serve as a heuristic device to encourage a sharing of insights and to stimulate better theoretical and empirical research. These possibilities are presented, and an initial typology of possible extrication moves is delineated and illustrated through the examination of four major works in recent normative theory.