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Discounting and “Libertarian” Paternalism
Richard Thaler is a leading proponent of “libertarian” (or “soft”) paternalism. But there is nothing “libertarian” or “soft” about paternalism, no matter what it’s called. (See this, for example.)...
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The Mind of a Paternalist
The April 2010 edition of Cato Unbound, “Slippery Slopes and the New Paternalism,” is about “libertarian” paternalism and whether it deserves to be called libertarian, without the scare quotes. Richard...
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Accountants of the Soul
In a post about two of the founders of modern “liberalism,” T.H. Green, and L.T. Hobhouse, I say Green and Hobhouse . . . were accountants of the soul. Green’s apparent delicacy in warning of too much...
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Rawls Meets Bentham
Steven Landsburg writes: Paul Krugman is at it again, casting aspersions on everyone who opposes extended unemployment benefits while offering absolutely no positive argument for those benefits. Let me...
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The Mind of a Paternalist, Revisited
If there was any doubt that Richard Thaler is not a “libertarian,” even though he implies that he is one when he calls himself a “libertarian paternalist,” read this: There is another possible argument...
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Not-So-Random Thoughts (XII)
Links to the other posts in this occasional series may be found at “Favorite Posts,” just below the list of topics. * * * “Intolerance as Illiberalism” by Kim R. Holmes (The Public Discourse,...
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Not-So-Random Thoughts (XVI)
Links to the other posts in this occasional series may be found at “Favorite Posts,” just below the list of topics. This is an especially long entry in the series, so I’ve labeled each item. You can...
View ArticleRichard Thaler, Nobel Laureate
I am slightly irked by today’s news of the selection of Richard Thaler as the 2017 Noblel laureate in economics. (It’s actually the Swedish National Bank’s Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of...
View ArticleThaler’s Fatuousness
Richard Thaler, with whom I had a nodding acquaintance many years ago, is one of my least favorite economists — and a jerk, to boot. (See, for example, “The Perpetual Nudger“, “Richard Thaler, Nobel...
View ArticleNo Tears for Cass Sunstein
Cass Sunstein is, among many things, the co-author (with Richard Thaler). of Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. One reviewer says this about the book: Cass Sunstein and...
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