A Pragmatic Framework for the Evaluation of Policy Arguments

A policy argument is an oral or written statement that advocates adopting a policy or justifies the decision to adopt a policy. This article advances the study of policy arguments by establishing a simple and general framework for their evaluation that is inspired by pragmatic philosophy. A pragmatic framework recognizes that all policy arguments are normative in purpose and that a good policy argument supports its normative claim with factual and value‐based “good reasons.” Establishing an argument's claim mediates these supporting reasons. A pragmatic approach delineates the nature and purpose of policy arguments more clearly than has been done in the past, providing a more suitable framework for study.