In a story that encompasses all parts of our PPE major, Salon Magazine examines "libertarian paternalism," a movement started by Cass Sunstein, and its connection to Barack Obama and his economic advisors.
Thaler and Sunstein describe a style of government in which citizens are free to choose -- how they invest their money, how they give away their money -- but the options among which they can select from are structured so as to steer them in the socially correct direction. Designing those options, they write, is a process known as "choice architecture." Government, they argue, needs to do a better job picking choices.
By now readers are probably wondering how Barack Obama fits into all this. Easy -- Obama's chief economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, is a paradigmatic choice architect. Thaler exerts considerable influence on Goolsbee's views.
What's everyone's thoughts on this? I personally wish Sunstein would have chosen a better phrase than "libertarian paternalism."
Link: Is Barack Obama a Libetarian Paternalist? [Salon]
1 comment:
I mentioned this in class, but I'm not comfortable considering this a new movement. It seems altogether classical to me. I haven't read my Aristotle in a semester or so, so I had to return to the Stanford Encyclopedia:
The city-state is neither a business association to maximize wealth (as the oligarchs suppose) nor an agency to promote liberty and equality (as the democrats maintain). Instead, Aristotle argues, "the good life is the end of the city-state," that is, a life consisting of noble actions (1280b39-1281a4).
The city was to instill virtue in the populous. Aristotle recognized the pervasive effects of a lawmaking, and accordingly he recommended the proper use of legislation to help perfect men. We hesitate, I think, from this understanding, so it's an unpopular or infrequent idea. But that doesn't mean it's a new one.
I must point out that I'm captivated by the argument. It opens the door to great potential for, yes, change. Sure, abuse is as likely as progress, but disregard is craven. What we do and how we do it is in part in response to the societal norms crafted by legislation and policy. To some extent, the government affects our decision making process. It's foolish, then, not to consider that in the policy decision making process.
The government can shape men's souls. Lovely. Who wants to run for office?
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