De l'efficacité à la normativité

[fre] From efficiency to normativeness. . This article is a study of the legitimacy cf prescriptions in the fields of collective choices and resource allocation, when they are based on the economic norms of efficiency. It is argued that, for all the intuitive appeal of these norms, their normative foundations must be investigated with a view to specific types of normative application. This is illustrated by the example of collective choices in medicine. It is further argued that the assessment of normative foundations involves an explicit clarification of the chosen interpretation of the Pareto principle. Various interpretations, in terms of choice or preference, are compared. The normative strength of the Pareto principe appears to be maximal either in an ex post interpretation with axiologically significant preferences, or in a choice representation of collective arbitration among conflicting demands. [eng] From efficiency to normativeness. . This article is a study of the legitimacy cf prescriptions in the fields of collective choices and resource allocation, when they are based on the economic norms of efficiency. It is argued that, for all the intuitive appeal of these norms, their normative foundations must be investigated with a view to specific types of normative application. This is illustrated by the example of collective choices in medicine. It is further argued that the assessment of normative foundations involves an explicit clarification of the chosen interpretation of the Pareto principle. Various interpretations, in terms of choice or preference, are compared. The normative strength of the Pareto principe appears to be maximal either in an ex post interpretation with axiologically significant preferences, or in a choice representation of collective arbitration among conflicting demands.