The hardest judgements to make are on questions that involve all three elements at once. Consider the current debate in britain about whether fox-hunting should be permitted or banned. Factual questions are relevant here:how much does fox-hunting contribute to control of the fox popuiation? What would be the effect of an outright ban on the rural economy? So also are questions of preference:how much does it matter to those who now hunt foxes that they should continue to do this rather than,say,chasing hounds along aniseed trails?And do other country-dwellers want hunting to continue,or are they fed up with horses and hounds trampling their fields and damaging their fences? And finally there are the moral issues:does personal liberty include the rights that include the tight not to be killed?Most people,in reaching a decision,would want to take all of these questions into account,and that is why it is hard to form a rational judgement on the issue.In practice, of course,people do have strong opinions on issues such as this,but perhaps this just shows that Schumpeter's disparaging remarks about the ordinary citizen's level of competence on political questions are fully justified.