Paternalistic Libertarianism?

I am buying Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness for my birthday. I just read the whole page on Amazon and there is an amazing amount of information there, including an interview with the authors and a couple of informative reviews. The authors call their brand of thinking "paternalistic libertarianism" - which basically amounts to using the latest psychological research about human choice-making to restructure the menu without removing choices from the menu. Everything I know about that imperfect species called human supports this kind of redesigning. At first reading, I am inclined to go with the authors. I will let you know what I think when I read the whole book.

PS: I came across this link from the comment posted by LB. A nice synopsis.

Comments

Lynne said…
Don't get Blue Hippoed. These guys are pushing the same "Save Me From Myself" crack the congress seems to be smoking these days.

But that's just my opinion.

:)
As humans get to understand more and more about simple scientific issues surrounding them, the study of psychology, study anything with some concern for psychology in mind is going to be imminent. I look forward to more words on the book.

What is or would be a perfect species?

Popular Posts