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Liberty and the Post‐utilitarian Society
Author(s) -
SaintPaul Gilles
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
economic affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1468-0270
pISSN - 0265-0665
DOI - 10.1111/ecaf.12004
Subject(s) - paternalism , utilitarianism , autonomy , scope (computer science) , government (linguistics) , law and economics , economic interventionism , moral responsibility , intervention (counseling) , irrational number , limited government , state (computer science) , faith , economics , positive economics , political science , sociology , law , psychology , epistemology , politics , philosophy , geometry , mathematics , algorithm , psychiatry , computer science , programming language , linguistics
Utilitarian foundations for limited government are shaky insofar as they assume rational and consistent individuals. Recently economists’ assumption of rational actors has come under sustained attack. Behavioural economics has suggested that people are plagued by irrational biases and inconsistencies. These developments have led to a post‐utilitarianism which is held to justify paternalistic interventions by the state via ‘sin taxes’, direct bans or new obligations. Individual responsibility is seriously undermined, as is faith in markets. Supporters of individual freedom need to move away from utilitarian reasoning, reassert core values of autonomy and responsibility, and define strict limits on the scope of government intervention.