The continual adjustment of social forces is the basis of interventionist government . The goal of this intervention is stability, often interpreted as non-change. Man can shape the environment As a separate entity, the environment has value only according to its usefulness, and is modifiable to enhance that utility, using predictable, objective knowledge. The environment does not posses any intrinsic value. Public organizations have a responsibility for the minimization of scarcity and the preservation of natural resources in order to prolong the usefulness of the environment for future individual interests.
Environmental value equals market value of the environment.
The problem with this classical approach, is not so much its inaccuracy, but its incompleteness. Just as Newtonian physics eventually proved inadequate for describing a complete picture of the physical sciences, the application of the classical paradigm to governance issues and public policy is also proving to be insufficient. This axiom leads liberalism to resist systems that have activity, uncertainty, spontaneity, complexity, ambiguity, and process as major components . Critics of this axiom, however, are labelled non-scientific and irrational even when its basis has been shown scientifically to be incomplete. Although the classical paradigm is strongly entrenched, the forces of change are creating cracks in its hold on political and social thought.