Government Paternalism

Author : Julian Le Grand,Bill New
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 214 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2020-11-03
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780691210001

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Government Paternalism by Julian Le Grand,Bill New Pdf

Should governments save people from themselves? Do governments have the right to influence citizens' behavior related to smoking tobacco, eating too much, not saving enough, drinking alcohol, or taking marijuana—or does this create a nanny state, leading to infantilization, demotivation, and breaches in individual autonomy? Looking at examples from both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, Government Paternalism examines the justifications for, and the prevalence of, government involvement and considers when intervention might or might not be acceptable. Building on developments in philosophy, behavioral economics, and psychology, Julian Le Grand and Bill New explore the roles, boundaries, and responsibilities of the government and its citizens. Le Grand and New investigate specific policy areas, including smoking, saving for pensions, and assisted suicide. They discuss legal restrictions on risky behavior, taxation of harmful activities, and subsidies for beneficial activities. And they pay particular attention to "nudge" or libertarian paternalist proposals that try to change the context in which individuals make decisions so that they make the right ones. Le Grand and New argue that individuals often display "reasoning failure": an inability to achieve the ends that they set themselves. Such instances are ideal for paternalistic interventions—for though such interventions might impinge on autonomy, the impact can be outweighed by an improvement in well-being. Government Paternalism rigorously considers whether the state should guide citizen decision making in positive ways and if so, how this should be achieved.

Author : Cass R. Sunstein
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2014-03-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300206920

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Why Nudge? by Cass R. Sunstein Pdf

Based on a series of pathbreaking lectures given at Yale University in 2012, this powerful, thought-provoking work by national best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein combines legal theory with behavioral economics to make a fresh argument about the legitimate scope of government, bearing on obesity, smoking, distracted driving, health care, food safety, and other highly volatile, high-profile public issues. Behavioral economists have established that people often make decisions that run counter to their best interests—producing what Sunstein describes as “behavioral market failures.” Sometimes we disregard the long term; sometimes we are unrealistically optimistic; sometimes we do not see what is in front of us. With this evidence in mind, Sunstein argues for a new form of paternalism, one that protects people against serious errors but also recognizes the risk of government overreaching and usually preserves freedom of choice. Against those who reject paternalism of any kind, Sunstein shows that “choice architecture”—government-imposed structures that affect our choices—is inevitable, and hence that a form of paternalism cannot be avoided. He urges that there are profoundly moral reasons to ensure that choice architecture is helpful rather than harmful—and that it makes people’s lives better and longer.

Author : Jason Hanna
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2018-09-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780190877156

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In Our Best Interest by Jason Hanna Pdf

When, if ever, is it permissible to intervene in a person's affairs for his or her own good? This, in essence, is the moral problem of paternalism. Many consider paternalism morally objectionable. In this book, Jason Hanna argues boldly for an alternative pro-paternalist view: that intervention is permissible so long as it serves the best interest of the person subject to it, without thereby wronging others. To Hanna, the moral debate over paternalism is most fundamentally a debate about the weight and relevance of a certain kind of reason or rationale for intervention. In arguing that paternalistic rationales provide valid and weighty reasons, Hanna considers the objections that paternalism is disrespectful, that it wrongly imposes values on people, that it violates individual rights, and that it is likely to be misapplied or abused. He argues that each of these objections fails to demonstrate that there is anything distinctively problematic about paternalism. Moreover, he attempts to situate pro-paternalism within a popular rights-based moral theory. Hanna shows that popular alternatives to pro-paternalism confront serious problems of their own, especially insofar as they attempt to distinguish permissible intervention on behalf of incompetent persons from impermissible intervention on behalf of competent adults. Although the book's central aim is to defend a moral view, it suggests how this view can be fruitfully applied in a number of real-world contexts.

Author : Gilles Saint-Paul
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2011-07-05
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781400838899

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The Tyranny of Utility by Gilles Saint-Paul Pdf

The general assumption that social policy should be utilitarian--that society should be organized to yield the greatest level of welfare--leads inexorably to increased government interventions. Historically, however, the science of economics has advocated limits to these interventions for utilitarian reasons and because of the assumption that people know what is best for themselves. But more recently, behavioral economics has focused on biases and inconsistencies in individual behavior. Based on these developments, governments now prescribe the foods we eat, the apartments we rent, and the composition of our financial portfolios. The Tyranny of Utility takes on this rise of paternalism and its dangers for individual freedoms, and examines how developments in economics and the social sciences are leading to greater government intrusion in our private lives. Gilles Saint-Paul posits that the utilitarian foundations of individual freedom promoted by traditional economics are fundamentally flawed. When combined with developments in social science that view the individual as incapable of making rational and responsible choices, utilitarianism seems to logically call for greater governmental intervention in our lives. Arguing that this cannot be defended on purely instrumental grounds, Saint-Paul calls for individual liberty to be restored as a central value in our society. Exploring how behavioral economics is contributing to the excessive rise of paternalistic interventions, The Tyranny of Utility presents a controversial challenge to the prevailing currents in economic and political discourse.

Author : Lawrence M. Mead
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Political Science
ISBN : STANFORD:36105019370282

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The New Paternalism by Lawrence M. Mead Pdf

The New Paternalism opens up a serious discussion of supervisory methods in antipoverty policy. The book assembles noted policy experts to examine whether programs that set standards for their clients and supervise them closely are better able to help them than traditional programs that leave clients free to live as they please.

Author : Sarah Conly
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 215 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781107024847

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Against Autonomy by Sarah Conly Pdf

Argues that laws that enforce what is good for the individual's well-being, or hinder what is bad, are morally justified.

Author : Sigal R. Ben-Porath
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2016-06-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780691171289

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Tough Choices by Sigal R. Ben-Porath Pdf

To what extent should government be permitted to intervene in personal choices? In grappling with this question, liberal theory seeks to balance individual liberty with the advancement of collective goals such as equality. Too often, however, society's obligation to provide meaningful opportunities is overshadowed by its commitment to personal freedom. Tough Choices charts a middle course between freedom-oriented anti-interventionism and equality-oriented social welfare, presenting a way to structure choices that equalize opportunities while protecting the freedom of individuals to choose among them. Drawing on insights from behavioral economics, psychology, and educational theory, Sigal Ben-Porath makes the case for structured paternalism, which is based on the understanding that state intervention is often inevitable, and that therefore theorists and policymakers must focus on the extent to which it can productively be applied, as well as on the forms it should take in different social domains. Ben-Porath explores how structured paternalism can play a role in providing equal opportunities for individual choice in an array of personal and social contexts, including the intimate lives of adults, parent-child relationships, school choice, and intercultural relations. Tough Choices demonstrates how structured paternalism can inform more egalitarian social policies, ones that acknowledge personal, social, and cultural differences as well as the challenges all individuals may face when they make a choice.

Author : Guy Standing
Publisher : Verso
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Comparative industrial relations
ISBN : 1859846351

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Beyond the New Paternalism by Guy Standing Pdf

Guy Standing argues for a complex egalitarianism, in which basic income security is a right for all.

Author : Christian Coons,Michael Weber
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 293 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2013-02-14
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781107025462

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Paternalism by Christian Coons,Michael Weber Pdf

Should the government influence or coerce us for our 'own good'? This volume discusses specific applications in policy and law.

Author : Joe Soss,Richard C. Fording,Sanford Schram
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2011-11-30
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780226768762

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Disciplining the Poor by Joe Soss,Richard C. Fording,Sanford Schram Pdf

This volume lays out the underlying logic of contemporary poverty governance in the United States. The authors argue that poverty governance has been transformed in the United States by two significant developments.

Author : Thak Chaloemtiarana
Publisher : SEAP Publications
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN : 0877277427

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Thailand by Thak Chaloemtiarana Pdf

A narration of the volatile period following the second world war in which coups and counter coups become the common occurrence of political manoeuvring. Includes the Sarit regime, and explains the nature of Thai despotic paternalism and the concept of democracy seen within this context.

Author : Archibald Paton Thornton
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 410 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1966
Category : History
ISBN : UCAL:B4362179

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The Habit of Authority by Archibald Paton Thornton Pdf

Author : Kim Lawes
Publisher : Springer
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2000-08-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9781403919618

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Paternalism and Politics by Kim Lawes Pdf

This book is about continuity and change in early nineteenth-century Britain. Against the background of an emerging industrial state, the popularization of liberal laissez-faire principles and the rise of a class-based society, it examines the revival of traditional paternal ideals and considers their influence upon the development of social policy. The poor laws, social distress, child labour and factory reform provide a focus for the analysis. The implications of the revival for the emergence of the collective or welfare state is an important theme.

Author : Kalle Grill,Jason Hanna
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 498 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2018-01-17
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781317326984

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The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Paternalism by Kalle Grill,Jason Hanna Pdf

While paternalism has been a long-standing philosophical issue, it has recently received renewed attention among scholars and the general public. The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Paternalism is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting subject and is the first collection of its kind. Comprising twenty-seven chapters by a team of international contributors the handbook is divided into five parts: • What is Paternalism? • Paternalism and Ethical Theory • Paternalism and Political Philosophy • Paternalism without Coercion • Paternalism in Practice Within these sections central debates, issues and questions are examined, including: how should paternalism be defined or characterized? How is paternalism related to such moral notions as rights, well-being, and autonomy? When is paternalism morally objectionable? What are the legitimate limits of government benevolence? To what extent should medical practice be paternalistic? The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Paternalism is essential reading for students and researchers in applied ethics and political philosophy. The handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as law, medicine, sociology and political science.

Author : Deirdre Howard-Wagner,Maria Bargh,Isabel Altamirano-Jiménez
Publisher : ANU Press
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2018-07-25
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781760462215

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The Neoliberal State, Recognition and Indigenous Rights by Deirdre Howard-Wagner,Maria Bargh,Isabel Altamirano-Jiménez Pdf

The impact of neoliberal governance on indigenous peoples in liberal settler states may be both enabling and constraining. This book is distinctive in drawing comparisons between three such states—Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In a series of empirically grounded, interpretive micro-studies, it draws out a shared policy coherence, but also exposes idiosyncrasies in the operational dynamics of neoliberal governance both within each state and between them. Read together as a collection, these studies broaden the debate about and the analysis of contemporary government policy. The individual studies reveal the forms of actually existing neoliberalism that are variegated by historical, geographical and legal contexts and complex state arrangements. At the same time, they present examples of a more nuanced agential, bottom-up indigenous governmentality. Focusing on intense and complex matters of social policy rather than on resource development and land rights, they demonstrate how indigenous actors engage in trying to govern various fields of activity by acting on the conduct and contexts of everyday neoliberal life, and also on the conduct of state and corporate actors.