Review: Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness

Since the Culture Wars in the United States (U.S.), government influence has been the subject of fierce debate. ‘Nudge’, written by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, tries to soften the often hard-edged ideological lines between libertarianism and paternalism. This book is an attempt to steer people in a direction without imposing any limitation on the choices they can make. To do this Thaler and Sunstein used the term ‘nudge’, in normal parlance, a gentle push to urge into action. The authors gave it a political philosophical meaning: “A nudge [...] is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any option or significantly changing their economic incentives.”1 They illustrate this with the example of Carolyn who is in charge of hundreds of school cafeterias. She finds out that the food placed at eye level is most consumed by the school children, regardless of whether it is vegetables or fast-food. By arranging the cafeteria in such a way that the healthier food will be consumed more, Carolyn can have a serious influence on the consumption and health of the school children. This is an example of influence without affecting the choice the pupils have. Students can still choose to eat candy bars and fast food.