« Supporting Unsubsidized Stem-Cell Research | Main | Klein's Critique of Thaler & Sunstein» Don Boudreaux
March 27, 2005
You Choose
Don Boudreaux
The assault on choice continues. See this story in today’s New York Times. This paragraph gives a good flavor of the entire article:
[University of Chicago economist Richard] Thaler and Cass Sunstein of the University of Chicago Law School suggested that it is proper for government, or an employer, to set boundaries to choice to achieve desired social objectives, an approach they call "libertarian paternalism."
What are the "desired social objectives"? How are they chosen? The range of options – from among which the "desired" ones are to be chosen – is vast. Do our "desired social objectives" include absolute income equality among families? Zero rates of divorce? Reducing the number of abortions? Curing cancer within ten years? Putting a man on Mars? No more petroleum imports? Reducing air pollution nationwide by 10% annually? 25% annually? 50% annually? Eliminating the trade deficit? Completely eliminating tobacco consumption? Reducing alcoholism by 5%? By 30%? TiVo in every family room?
Talk about a superfluity of choices! And whichever ones are selected will apply to us all, as a society. Because government will be entrusted to direct us all to pursue many of these "social objectives," we’d better make sure that the process for choosing which "social objectives" to pursue is pretty darn fool-proof. After all, what if we err in choosing the best set of "social objectives"? Or what if government inadvertently misdirects us toward pursuing some "social objectives" that are not among those truly chosen? We’re stuck – for there’s less individual, decentralized experimentation going on that can alert those of us on the wrong track to switch to a better track.
....
Elsewhere in the New York Times story, the writer says that "empirical studies have found that people, regardless of intelligence, do not always choose well."
Gee. People don’t always choose well. Are empirical studies needed to determine such a fact? Does any respectable school of economics, theory of psychology, or political philosophy rest on the assumption that people choose well always?
One vital theory of choice was explained by Kenneth Arrow. Whatever the problems with individual choice, they are small beer next to those that afflict collective choices.
....
Also on this topic, Cafe Hayek's own Russ Roberts debated Barry Schwartz last week on NPR.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Myths and Fallacies | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834518ccc69e200d83458758669e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference You Choose:
» SAVING US FROM OURSELVES from Pejmanesque
Be warned: Reading this article might significantly raise your blood pressure: CHOICE is the driving force of capitalism. Choosy consumers determine what products and companies thrive or die as they pick among tubes of toothpaste or plans for cellphone... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 27, 2005 4:15:14 PM
» SAVING US FROM OURSELVES from Pejmanesque
Be warned: Reading this article might significantly raise your blood pressure: CHOICE is the driving force of capitalism. Choosy consumers determine what products and companies thrive or die as they pick among tubes of toothpaste or plans for cellphone... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 27, 2005 4:21:52 PM
» Two Oxymorons in One Night from A Stitch in Haste
The bottom line, of course, is: "social objectives...desired by whom?" At that point (i.e., step one) the word "libertarian" ceases to apply... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 27, 2005 8:10:43 PM
» Condoms and Choice, Separately from Quiet Declarations
First, on choice. Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek posts on what he calls the assault on choice as described in a Sunday NYT article. The story notes that studies have revealed many cases in which people with added choices choose poorly, and contends that a... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 28, 2005 2:42:59 AM
» Condoms and Choice, Separately from Quiet Declarations
First, on choice. Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek posts on what he calls the assault on choice as described in a Sunday NYT article. The story notes that studies have revealed many cases in which people with added choices choose poorly, and contends that a... [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 28, 2005 2:44:15 AM
» "Libertarian Paternalism" from Conglomerate
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein coined this term in their 2003 paper, published in the American Economic Review and in [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 28, 2005 10:50:05 AM
» Experts Clash over Narcotic Painkillers from due to the millions
millions of people abusing the prescription drugs, despite protest from pain doctors. [PRWEB
Mar 30, 2006]
[Read More]
Tracked on Apr 1, 2006 2:38:14 PM
» Sixers Must Choose, Iverson or Webber from from the high
Iverson to score a ton of points and pass only to others he trusts; Webber to facilitate an offense from the high post as he did in Sacramento. Individually, [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 27, 2006 1:31:34 PM
» Auto Search: 1935 buick from Online Auto Guise
Search and Compare Certified Pre-Owned Cars. Car Shopping Tools and Advice · 2006 Auto Shows · New York Auto Show Check out 2007 models and cool concepts ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 28, 2006 2:20:02 AM
» Library of Congress WWW/Z39.50 Gateway from Harvard Seismology: Centroid Moment Tensor Catalog
Contents: Search Library of Congress Catalog | Search Other Catalogs | About the Z39.50 ... Library of Congress Online Catalog. Simple Search (any keyword) ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 30, 2006 8:49:14 AM
» Clippers Advance for First Time in 30 Years from points apiece
round of the playoffs for
the first time in 30 years with a 101-83 victory over the Denver
Nuggets. [Read More]
Tracked on May 24, 2006 9:22:32 PM
» Sharp: Don't Discount Billups for MVP from mix of politics
and hypocrisy. Its parameters change every year because the award is no longer about choosing the right player, but whatever the whims of the [Read More]
Tracked on May 29, 2006 9:00:25 PM
» Evans Stays in Contract Limbo from POST writes,
in limbo, Nuggets free-agent forward Reggie Evans has been impressed with the franchise's big moves. The Nuggets [Read More]
Tracked on Aug 9, 2006 1:01:51 AM
