Posted by Jonathan Adler:
Sunstein on Libertarian Paternalism:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_01_14-2007_01_20.shtml#1169335926
University of Chicago law profesor Cass Sunstein [1]blogs in defense
of libertarian paternalism:
Becker and Posner make some nice points against those who like
government bans and mandates (though Posner, interestingly, defends
the ban on trans fats in New York City restaurants; libertarian
paternalists would disapprove of any such ban). But libertarian
paternalists do not mean to allow government to forbid the triumph
of the supposed "weaker" self over the supposedly stronger one. If
people want to eat a lot of candy and ice cream, or refuse to save
for their retirement, that is their right. Far from neglecting the
bounded rationality of government officials, libertarian
paternalists emphasize government error as a strong reason for
respecting freedom of choice.
What libertarian paternalists add is that the opposition between
"individual choice" and "government" is confusing and unhelpful
when government is inevitably establishing default rules that
govern outcomes if choices haven't been specifically made -- and
that influence people's choices in any case. A key point, then, is
that private and public institutions can't possibly avoid a form of
paternalism, so long as they establish default rules and starting
points. (For some reason, economists in particular seem not to
understand this point.) The question is how to make those starting
points as good as possible, while also preserving free choice.
For more on this subject, see Sunstein's paper with Richard Thaler,
"[2]Libertarian Paternalism Is Not an Oxymoron," and Gregory
Mithcell's response, "[3]Libertarian Paternalism Is an Oxymoron."
References
1. http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/2007/01/libertarian_pat.html
2. http://www.aei.brookings.org/publications/abstract.php?pid=328
3. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=615562
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