Paternalism: Theory and Practice

Cambridge University Press, 2/14/2013
EAN 9781107025462, ISBN10: 110702546X

Hardcover, 292 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm
Language: English

Is it allowable for your government, or anyone else, to influence or coerce you 'for your own sake'? This is a question about paternalism, or interference with a person's liberty or autonomy with the intention of promoting their good or averting harm, which has created considerable controversy at least since John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Mill famously decried paternalism of any kind, whether carried out by private individuals or the state. In this volume of new essays, leading moral, political and legal philosophers address how to define paternalism, its justification, and the implications for public policy, professional ethics and criminal law. So-called 'libertarian' or non-coercive paternalism receives considerable attention. The discussion addresses the nature of freedom and autonomy and the relation of individuals to law, policy and the state. The volume will interest a wide range of readers in political philosophy, public policy and the philosophy of law.

Introduction
paternalism - issues and trends Christian Coons and Michael Weber
1. Defining paternalism Gerald Dworkin
2. Penal paternalism Douglas Husak
3. Self-sovereignty and paternalism Peter de Marneffe
4. The right to autonomy and the justification of hard paternalism Danny Scoccia
5. Moral environmentalism Steven Wall
6. Kantian paternalism and suicide intervention Michael Cholbi
7. Paternalism and the principle of fairness Richard Arneson
8. Paternalism in economics Daniel M. Haybron and Anna Alexandrovna
9. Choice architecture
a mechanism for improving decisions while preserving liberty? Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby
10. A psychological defense of paternalism Jeremy A. Blumenthal
11. Libertarian paternalism, utilitarianism, and justice Jamie Kelly
12. Voluntary enslavement Lawrence Alexander
13. Paternalism, (school) choice and opportunity Sigal Ben-Porath.