Government Paternalism: Nanny State or Helpful Friend?

by Julian Le Grand, Bill New

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691164373
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/25/2015
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Julian Le Grand is the Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics. He has acted as a senior adviser to the UK Prime Minister, the European Commission, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization. His many books include Motivation, Agency, and Public Policy and The Economics of Social Problems. Le Grand was awarded a knighthood in 2015 for services to social science and public service. Bill New is an independent policy analyst, currently working in Italy. He has previously worked in the UK for the National Audit Office and the King's Fund.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 Introduction 1

2 What Is Paternalism? 7

The Interference in Freedom 8

Promoting the Good 16

The Question of Consent 18

Conclusion: A Definition of Paternalism 22

3 Types of Paternalism 25

Legal Paternalism 25

Soft and Hard Paternalism 26

Means and Ends Paternalism 27

Perfectionism 30

Volitional and Critical Paternalism 33

Moral Paternalism and Legal Moralism 35

Other Categories of Paternalism 36

Conclusion 38

4 Paternalism in Practice 41

Types of Government Intervention 42

Nonpaternalistic Justifications for State Intervention 53

Do Nonpaternalist Justifications Explain Paternalist Laws and Regulations? 59

Conclusion 77

5 Paternalism and Well-Being 79

The Classical Economic Model and Its Challengers 80

The Evidence on Reasoning Failure 82

Ends-Related Paternalism 101

Conclusion: Means-Related versus Ends-Related Paternalism 103

6 The Nanny State: The Challenge from Autonomy 105

Autonomy 106

Autonomy and Motivation 108

Soft Paternalism 111

Autonomy Failure from External Causes 112

Autonomy Failure from Internal Causes 116

When Should the Soft Paternalist Intervene? 119

Does Soft Paternalism Avoid Offending Autonomy? 121

Overriding Autonomy: Hard Paternalism 127

Conclusion 131

7 Libertarian Paternalism 133

Definitions 134

Nudge Ideas: The Case For 135

Nudge Ideas: The Case Against 139

Conclusion 145

8 Paternalism and Policy 147

The Groups Affected: Well-Being and Autonomy 147

Types of Policy 151

Smoking 154

Pensions 159

Assisted Suicide 161

Conclusion 166

9 The Politics of Paternalism 167

Can the State Do Better? 167

Will the State Do Better? 170

Conclusion 174

10 Nanny State or Helpful Friend? 177

Bibliography 183

Index 195

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This well-structured, clearly presented, and well-written book steers a sophisticated course between the extremes of antipaternalism and paternalism by identifying the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate paternalism. The current debate on the policies that nudge individuals to make better decisions makes this discussion timely. There is no book available that treats the same subject with as much range."—Alan Hamlin, University of Manchester

"The purpose of this book is to identify the conditions under which paternalist policies are justified and to distinguish those that are justified from those that are not. Government Paternalism will appeal to political theorists as well as general readers who have thought about concerns like seat belts or antismoking legislation and who are looking for original, rigorous, and insightful discussion."—Albert Weale, University College London

Editorial Reviews

"[T]his is an excellent survey of approaches justifying and opposing government interventionism."

Choice

"This well-structured, clearly presented, and well-written book steers a sophisticated course between the extremes of antipaternalism and paternalism by identifying the boundaries between legitimate and illegitimate paternalism. The current debate on the policies that nudge individuals to make better decisions makes this discussion timely. There is no book available that treats the same subject with as much range."—Alan Hamlin, University of Manchester


"The purpose of this book is to identify the conditions under which paternalist policies are justified and to distinguish those that are justified from those that are not. Government Paternalism will appeal to political theorists as well as general readers who have thought about concerns like seat belts or antismoking legislation and who are looking for original, rigorous, and insightful discussion."—Albert Weale, University College London

From the Publisher