Jon Houston's Notebook

Paternalism

Definition of Paternalism

“X acts paternalistically toward Y by doing, or omitting, Z” if and only if:

  1. Z, or its omission, interferes with the liberty or autonomy of Y.

  2. X does so without the consent of Y.

  3. X does so only because X believes Z will improve the welfare of Y, including preventing Y’s welfare from diminishing, or will in some way promote the interests, values, or good of Y.

Questions About Paternalism

  1. What are some examples of paternalism?

  2. Is paternalism always justifiable? Never justifiable? Sometimes justifiable, depending on the circumstances?

  3. Who has the burden of proof in showing that paternalism is justifiable? Is it the person who wants to interfere with my life to promote my best interests, or the person who does not want you to interfere with her life, even though such interference may be in her best interests?

  4. Whose life may we interfere with?

  5. Who can do the interfering?

  6. Are there outcomes that we can all agree are good? Are you allowed to act paternalistically even if we disagree about what is good for me? Can you know more about what is good for me than I do?

Definition of a Nudge

A nudge is:

Any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.

Examples of Nudges

  • Product placement
  • Opt-in vs. opt-out systems
  • Save More Tomorrow programs
  • Plate size
  • Narrow traffic lanes

Questions About Nudging

  1. Given that there is some debate about whether nudges would be as effective if we knew about them, should nudges be open to public scrutiny?

  2. Choice architecture always influences our decisions. Does it matter if the choice architecture was intentional or unintentional?

  3. Nudging sometimes works by taking advantage of our tendency to reason poorly. Is it objectionable to take advantage of people’s poor reasoning, even if it leads to good ends?

  4. “Nudging uses the clever tricks of modern psychology and economics to manipulate people. We do not like manipulation when it is done to sell us things; we should not like manipulation when our governments do it to us.” Is this correct?