I’d like to thank David for pointing out my oversights on Nudge, and apologize to Sunstein and Thaler for failing to give credit where credit is due. I based my criticisms on shorter versions of their arguments, rather than the book. My bad.
Apr 9 2010
In the comments, chipotle quotes my adage that "Non-profits are crazy," then fires back: Remind me, Dr. Caplan, precisely who your principal employer is and what their relation is to the profit motive?Surely, you could find a nice position at a good, for-profit instituti...
Apr 9 2010
Robin's remarks on libertarian paternalism take me back to the great Balan-Hanson "Paternalistic Policy: Altruism or Arrogance?" debate. While I agreed with Robin's position, I found his arguments extremely frustrating. Why? Because Robin avoided specifics paternalisms (e.g. banning cocaine) in ...
Apr 9 2010
I'd like to thank David for pointing out my oversights on Nudge, and apologize to Sunstein and Thaler for failing to give credit where credit is due. I based my criticisms on shorter versions of their arguments, rather than the book. My bad.
READER COMMENTS
david
Apr 9 2010 at 5:06am
You should edit your earlier post to include a link to your correction, too :p
Arnold Kling
Apr 9 2010 at 9:50am
I do not think the apology is justified. All of the publicity surrounding the book uses the examples of 401K defaults and putting nutritious food first in cafeterias. If the authors really wanted to emphasize the libertarianism in their work, they could focus on that.
Sunstein is part of the Obama Administration. Has he proposed any libertarian policies?
What “Nudge” means in the public mind is more paternalism, not less. That is the what the authors want to be known for, as far as I can tell.
Doc Merlin
Apr 9 2010 at 12:45pm
The basic problems with nudge remain. All libertarian paternalism usually does is move the onus of federal regulation from voters to employers. It doesn’t actually get rid of the coercion, just hides it.
Comments are closed.