ABSTRACT
How can government take charge of its responsibility in the event of potential threats to physical safety? Policy intended to manage risk and uncertainty calls on politicians and public administrators to undertake a difficult appraisal. After all, high-risk and uncertain activities can also offer society advantages, otherwise we would probably not engage in them. The responsibility for physical safety forces us to consider the opportunities and threats and weigh them against each other (Chapter 1). Do the potential advantages weigh up against the possible disadvantages? Which hazards are personal matters, and which ones require collective mechanisms? 1 Underpinning these questions is a fundamental process of political appraisal that weighs up the short term against the long term, individual responsibility against solidarity, reasonableness against fairness, and the collective interest against the individual’s freedom to act. The responsibility for physical safety is thus a balancing act.
