Normative foundations - what is social welfare? Problems of social choice

Frequently, the uncertainty under which a prediction is made can prevent consequence-oriented decisions - such as those made by courts. But even if it is possible to accurately predict alternative future social conditions that arise as a result of alternative decisions, it remains to be decided which of these is the socially better one and how the decision should be made accordingly. In this chapter, we assume first of all that the social state brought about by the social choice can be clearly predicted, not because this would be unproblematic, but because it would make the normative problems of social decision making particularly clear. What is the relationship between the goals of society as a whole or the common good and the well-being of the individual members of society?