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… is from Aaron Wildavsky’s and Adam Wildavsky’s 2007 essay, “Risk and Safety [2],” for the 2007 Concise Encyclopedia of Economics [3] (edited by David R. Henderson):
The precautionary principle is a marvelous piece of rhetoric. It places the speaker on the side of the citizen – I am acting for your health – and portrays the opponents of the contemplated ban or regulation as indifferent or hostile to the public’s health. The rhetoric works in partbecause it assumes what actually should be proved, namely that the health effects of the regulation will be superior to the alternative. This comparison is made possible in the only possible way – by assuming that there are no health detriments from the proposed regulation.