Killjoys: A Critique of Paternalism

Description

The author Foreword 1 Paternalism and liberalism The liberal view 2 The classical economist’s view 3 Soft paternalism and nudge theory 4 Coercive paternalism The mirage of universal goals Slippery slopes and runaway trains The tyranny of the majority 5 Neo-paternalism: an assessment Searching for the ‘true’ self 6 ‘Public health’ paternalism The logic of ‘public health’ Public health versus ‘public health’ Consent Risk 7 The politics of ‘public health’ paternalism Industry as an agent of harm Negative externalities Advertising Children and addiction Asymmetric information and health warnings Summary: ‘public health’ as hard paternalism 8 The consequences of hard paternalism Higher costs for consumers Loss of consumer surplus Substitution effects The black market Stigmatisation Poorer health External costs 9 Towards better regulation Reducing a person’s enjoyment is a cost Perfection is neither possible nor desirable Changing the costs and benefits is cheating Influence is not coercion Education and labelling Taxation Pricing Controls on sale Advertising Teach economics Glossary References About the IEA