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The Emptiness of Thaler and Sunstein's Libertarian Paternalism

Los Angeles Times: Designing better choices

The libertarian aspect of the approach lies in the straightforward insistence that, in general, people should be free to do what they like. They should be permitted to opt out of arrangements they dislike, and even make a mess of their lives if they want to. The paternalistic aspect acknowledges that it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier and better.

My emphasis.

Awesome, so where do I mail my paperwork to opt out of the federal and Texas Constitutions and the whole cascading intrusive mess of laws they spawned?

I've got pot to grow, fully automatic rifles to fire, and just one lifespan to enjoy without taxation destroying chunks of it.

Posted by drizzten on April 3, 2008 01:54 PM |

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You'll also note the corruption of language exemplified by the use of the word "influence" when what is really meant is "coerce".

Posted by: John Sabotta | April 22, 2008 08:30 AM

Anytime someone feels the need to append new adjectives to existing words, my guard goes up. They're either trying to clarify something ruined by years of misuse or trying to swindle the reader into ignoring the contradictions contained therein.

Posted by: drizzten | April 25, 2008 08:47 AM

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