The Manipulation of Choice Ethics and Libertarian Paternalism

by White, Mark D.

• ISBN13: 9781137287762
• ISBN10: 1137287764
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-01-30
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The Manipulation of Choice explains the informational, ethical, and practical problems faced by libertarian paternalism and 'nudges,' by which the government subtly influences people's choices for their own good. In a lighthearted manner, the author points out critical flaws in the way economists model decision-making, how behavioral economics failed to correct them, and how they led to the problems with libertarian paternalism and nudges. Sprinkled throughout with anecdotes, examples, and references to a wide range of scholarly literature, this new volume argues against the use of paternalistic nudges by the government and makes a positive case for individual choice and autonomy.

Author Biography

Mark D. White is the Chair of the Department of Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy at the College of Staten Island, a previous Palgrave author (Accepting the Invisible Hand: Market-Based Approaches to Social-Economic Problems, 2010), and the series editor of Palgrave's 'Perspectives from Social Economics' series. At his Psychology Today blog 'Maybe It's Just Me, But…,' he writes about a wide range of topics, from adultery and self-loathing to more esoteric topics in philosophy and law, regularly draws thousands of readers. He also provides scholarly commentary on the Economics and Ethics group blog, discussion of comics and philosophy at The Comics Professor, and offers law-related perspective as a guest blogger at The Literary Table. His website is http://www.profmdwhite.com and he can found on Twitter at @profmdwhite.com

Table of Contents

to come