paternalism Flashcards
(10 cards)
paternalism
interfering in an individual’s life, in order to promote the good of the individual
dworkinian conception
the interference of a state or an individual with another person, against their will, and defended or motivated by a claim that the person interfered with will be better off or protected from harm’
pure paternalism
Class of people interfered with is identical to class being protected e.g. ban on sea swimming in bad weather conditions
impure paternalism
Class of people interfered with is different from class of being protected e.g. prevent people manufacturing cigarettes in order to prevent harm to consumers
hard paternalism
involves interference in voluntary conduct e.g. seeking to prevent even fully informed drug-taking, on grounds of risk of harm to individual
soft paternalism
involves interference in substantially non-voluntary conduct e.g. restricting access to a new drug in order to run an information campaign about the risks
nudging
Directing individuals towards choices that are better for themselves
‘any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentive’
objections to paternalism
individuals are best placed to judge their own interests
Paternalism treats individuals as though they are incapable of having control over their own lives
Paternalism involves a restriction of autonomy
against nudging
- legitimacy: who makes the choices about people’s choices? - it is inherently technocratic therefore the legitimacy of nudges depends on citizens’ acceptance of the manipulative character of the policy
- infantilisation/control: weaken our capacity for self-control + decrease responsibility in matters regarding one’s own welfare
why nudging?
- This idea of opposing corporate influence
- denormalisation: making the individual believe that the social norm is different, typically lower, than they may have assumed
