Normative statement

In economics and philosophy, a normative statement expresses a value judgment about whether a situation is desirable or undesirable. It looks at the world as it "should" be. "The world would be a better place if the moon were made of green cheese" is a normative statement because it expresses a judgment about what ought to be. Normative statements are characterised by the modal verbs "should", "would", "could" or "must". They form the basis of normative economics, and are the opposite of positive statements. For further information see normative science.