Comments on: John Cassidy on Libertarian Paternalism: Way Too Libertarian!

By: Celebrity Sunglasses

Celebrity Sunglasses — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:34:05 +0000

Great post.. and I agree with you.. “Anyway, the gist here is that John Cassidy is the guy Jonah Goldberg is trying to warn you about.”

By: Live lead transfer

Live lead transfer — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:37:07 +0000

I agree with your last paragraph.. Behavioral economics, by demonstrating how people often fall victim to confusion, myopia, and trend following, provides another convincing ratio-nale for Keynesian policies, but you wouldn’t realize that from reading Thaler and Sunstein. Great post..

By: Devin Shirley

Devin Shirley — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:31:37 +0000

your blog is great 684 gratz!

By: Club Troppo » Missing Link Daily

Club Troppo » Missing Link Daily — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:51:13 +0000

[...] Wilkinson has a neat libertarian rejoinder for a journo who berates Cass Sunstein’s “libertarian paternalism” for being insufficiently [...]

By: adina

adina — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:36:50 +0000

It is true that people often make woefully mistaken decisions and statements. Therefore, we should use our benevolent government to restrict Cassidy’s writing priveleges- for his own good.

By: adina

adina — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:36:00 +0000

It is true that people often make woefully mistaken decisions and statements. Therefore, we should use our benevolent government to restrict Cassidy’s writing priveleges- for his own good.

By: Joseph Hertzlinger

Joseph Hertzlinger — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:34:10 +0000

The theory that human irrationality means more decisions should be made by state officials only makes sense if you think said officials aren’t human.

Clearly, Cassidy is saying “I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords!”

By: Joseph Hertzlinger

Joseph Hertzlinger — Wed, 28 May 2008 05:34:00 +0000

The theory that human irrationality means more decisions should be made by state officials only makes sense if you think said officials aren’t human.

Clearly, Cassidy is saying “I, for one, welcome our new alien overlords!”

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:12:36 +0000

Oh the irony! At the bottom of this page, as I write, is a Google ad for “Free Government Grants” that promises “Billions Available. Never Repay!” This is the problem that the modern libertarian faces. We have to realize that Big Government is here, at least until the next revolution. We have Big Government because people want Big Government. We want a government that will dispense “free government grants”. And yet we are jealous of our liberties and we inherently recognize that Big Government = Fewer Liberties. So this “libertarian paternalism” seems like a way to chart a “real” Third Way, as the authors suggest, between oppressive nanny-state-ism (incompatible with our liberties) and complete pure libertarian laissez-faire economics (incompatible with our lust for government grants). But at the same time it sounds a lot like “compassionate conservatism” and we see how well that fared over the last 8 years. So I’m simultaneously optimistic and pessimistic about this idea. I’ll definitely read the book now, so I guess I can thank Cassidy for something.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:12:00 +0000

By: pat

pat — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:56:42 +0000

Just finished LF
Cassidy can’t resist the V word “…people often fall victim to confusion…”
Confusion, failure, learning from mistakes= BAD

By: pat

pat — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:56:00 +0000

Just finished LF
Cassidy can’t resist the V word “…people often fall victim to confusion…”
Confusion, failure, learning from mistakes= BAD

By: Micha Ghertner

Micha Ghertner — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:54:35 +0000

Jim,

Every Libertarian model presumes general democracy. But people who live dysfunctional lives are still allowed to vote.

Untrue. Libertarian anarchists do not presume democracy; they do not presume anyone should be allowed to vote.

By: Micha Ghertner

Micha Ghertner — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:54:00 +0000

Jim,

Every Libertarian model presumes general democracy. But people who live dysfunctional lives are still allowed to vote.

Untrue. Libertarian anarchists do not presume democracy; they do not presume anyone should be allowed to vote.

By: Bud

Bud — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:34:15 +0000

Generally agree with Wilkinson’s critique of John Cassidy’s ‘review’. Cassidy makes it clear that he is in the mold of the old Progressive Movement types such as Herbert Croly. Coercion ‘for your own good’ or ‘for the greater good’ is just fine so long as you are the one defining those phrases, which of course have no objective definition, but are clay to be molded into the politically convenient shape applicable to the moment.

I have not read Sunstein and Thaler’s book, but am of the opinion that the best corrective for the irrationality of human behavior is to let people enjoy the undiluted consequences of their actions. Many may think me cruel, but I counter that it is far kinder to have an environment where people learn as efficiently as possible from their mistakes and successes. Damping of the feedback mechanism simply perpetuates bad behavior. Any paternalistic state apparatus makes people serfs and deprives them of their dignity, not to mention liberty.

The Founders clearly understood Wilkinson’s point about government needing to be severely curtailed to protect the people. Most of the evil that has been visited upon people throughout history has been at the hands of their own governments.

To imagine a paternalistic government making people better is ludicrous on its face.