THE TWO COMPETING PARADIGMS OF LIBERALISM AND MULTIFUNCTIONALITY IN AGRICULTURE - A UTILITARIAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This paper takes its starting point in Potters finding that neoliberalism, neomercantilism and multifunctionality are the most important discourses shaping agricultural policy. It identifies paradigms that underlie the discourses of neoliberalism and multifunctionality, while neomercantilism can be shown to miss a firm normative framework. The paper uses a utilitarian perspective and concludes in its analysis of the paradigms’ arguments that the realities taken into account for the multifunctional framework are more holistic than for the justification of neoliberalism.