{"id":15657,"date":"2020-09-25T19:39:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T23:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=15657"},"modified":"2020-10-12T18:20:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T22:20:57","slug":"forced-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/forced-choices\/","title":{"rendered":"Forced Choices: Are Nudges Too Paternalistic?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How does libertarian paternalism<\/a> create forced choices? Are forced choices problematic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forced choices are one of the criticisms of the strategies in Nudge<\/em>. The argument is that the methods are too paternalistic and make free will meaningless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about the objections to Nudge<\/em>, including the issue of forced choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Forced Choices and Other Objections<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But aren\u2019t nudges manipulative at best, coercive at worst? In the wrong hands, couldn\u2019t the power of nudges be used to move Humans toward deleterious, even destructive, choices? When does libertarian paternalism become just <\/strong>paternalism<\/em><\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are legitimate questions, and Thaler and Sunstein attempt to answer them in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paternalism as a Slippery Slope<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One objection to the institution of nudges is: Where do the forced choices end? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tobacco regulation is a case in point. Information campaigns and surgeon\u2019s general warnings have mutated into astronomical taxes (in certain US states), a rise in the legal age to purchase tobacco products, and bans on smoking in some public spaces. At least in the realm of cigarette use, the government has gradually reduced freedom<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three rebuttals to the forced choices \u201cslippery slope\u201d objection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The slippery slope objection avoids evaluating libertarian paternalism on its own merits<\/strong>. Does offering tiered choice in retirement plans lead to better outcomes for workers? Does a \u201cmandated choice\u201d regime result in a greater pool of organ donors? If so, then those suspicious of \u201cbig government\u201d should suspend their misgivings as long as the choice architecture works<\/em>. There will always be opportunities later to critique and, if necessary, retrench libertarian paternalistic approaches.<\/li>
  2. Through readily available \u201copt out\u201d choices, libertarian paternalism always offers an escape hatch<\/strong>. Slippery slopes are steepest when options are limited and there\u2019s no easy way to reverse course. Nudges prioritize choice, and so the danger of creeping paternalism is limited.<\/li>
  3. Nudges are inevitable. <\/strong>Governments, whether they want to be or not, are in the business of choice architecture\u2014there\u2019s no such thing as a \u201cnatural\u201d or \u201cneutral\u201d presentation of choices. Thus it makes sense for governments to nudge people<\/a> toward the most beneficial choices, as long as choice itself is jealously guarded<\/em>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    (Although pure neutrality is impossible, there are relative degrees <\/em>of neutrality. For example, a ballot shouldn\u2019t be designed by a choice architect<\/a> to favor one candidate over another\u2014rather, the candidates should be randomly ordered and nudges minimized. That is to say, in the case of certain constitutional rights, randomness is acceptable. But when it comes to placing vulnerable people in a health care plan, randomness is both impractical and harmful.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nefarious Nudgers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Given how susceptible Humans are to nudges\u2014our bias toward defaults, the ease with which we can be \u201cprimed\u201d to make certain choices\u2014it\u2019s obvious that, in the wrong hands, choice architecture can be used against a chooser\u2019s best interest<\/strong>. Forced choices here are not advantageous. (Say, when a company offers you a special introductory rate, then hikes up the price without your knowledge after the introductory period is over.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The answer to this objection is a hallmark of libertarian paternalism: <\/strong>transparency<\/em><\/strong>. If companies are required to advertise their fee schedules in advance, in large rather than fine print, and government officials must publicly report any possible conflicts of interest, we can gauge the choices we\u2019re being offered against any conflicting incentives of the choice architect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A close relative of transparency is the \u201cpublicity principle\u201d\u2014the requirement that any proposed policy be defensible in public. For example, if a government wanted to use subliminal messaging to elect an incumbent, that sort of nudge would be impossible to defend to that incumbent\u2019s detractors<\/a>. A nudge to promote better saving habits, however, would be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: Thaler and Sunstein argue that any <\/em>subliminal messaging, even for a beneficial behavior, would run afoul of the publicity principle, because people don\u2019t like being influenced \u201cwithout being informed of that fact.\u201d They seem not to recognize that that\u2019s exactly what choice architecture does.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No Forced Choice<\/strong>s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A dyed-in-the-wool radical libertarian will bristle at any <\/em>constraint on free choice, whether by dint of a particular default or a purposefully designed presentation of choices. An objector of this stripe wishes to preserve at all costs people\u2019s \u201cright to be wrong\u201d\u2014their personal responsibility for all their decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One response to this complaint is that libertarian paternalism\u2019s redistributive effects are minimal<\/strong>. That is, it doesn\u2019t cost the polity much to pick sensible defaults or better structure large choice sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Another is that nudges may save those ardent libertarians money and effort in the long run<\/strong>. For example, low-income or elderly people who choose their insurance unwisely may end up relying on the public coffers for their care. Wouldn\u2019t it be better to nudge them toward the best choice in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Criticisms from the Left<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The objections listed up till now parrot those made by critics who lean right politically. But left-leaning observers too may object to libertarian paternalism\u2014for not being paternalistic <\/strong>enough<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Top-down, command-and-control rules\u2014outright bans, mandates, etc.\u2014are anathema to libertarian paternalism, and Thaler and Sunstein do worry that without easy \u201copt out\u201d features, nudges could be vulnerable to slippery slope objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One possible rubric to keep nudges from tipping over into outright paternalism is the notion of \u201casymmetric paternalism.\u201d This concept prioritizes cost<\/em>: Do the most one can for the least sophisticated in society while burdening the most sophisticated as little as possible<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How does libertarian paternalism create forced choices? Are forced choices problematic? Forced choices are one of the criticisms of the strategies in Nudge. The argument is that the methods are too paternalistic and make free will meaningless. Read more about the objections to Nudge, including the issue of forced choices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7,24],"tags":[132],"class_list":["post-15657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics","category-lifestyle","category-society","tag-nudge","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nForced Choices: Are Nudges Too Paternalistic? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Libertarian paternalism aims to nudge people towards certain choices. 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    An example might be a default national savings program (social security, in some sense, already is one). Under the program, a small percentage of every paycheck would be deposited in a government-sponsored savings account, and the government would match each deposit. The program would be entirely voluntary, though the default would be enrollment. Savvy investors, or those with generous private retirement plans, would likely want to opt out and could do so with almost zero effort. Less financially sophisticated workers, or those without access to 401(k) plans, might opt to stay in, whether on purpose or through status quo bias<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"