Section outline

  • This topic asks a deceptively simple question: what exactly is the problem? You will examine the relationship between observable conditions, desired conditions and actors’ judgments. You will then distinguish different degrees of problem structure and develop a multidimensional problem profile.

    By the end, you should be able to explain why a situation is considered problematic, identify its public policy relevance, distinguish factual disagreement from disagreement about values, and justify a preliminary classification of the problem.