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Fall 2005

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 21, Number 1

Categories: Politics | Fall 2005

The Case for Paternalism Revisited: Updating the Friedman Critique

Douglas A. Houston, University of Kansas

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JournalofPrivateEnte7prise,VolumeXXI,Fall2005TheCaseforPaternalismRevisited:UpdatingtheFriedmanCritiqueDouglasA.HoustonUniversityofKansas"Whatisgovernmentitselfbutthegreatestofallreflectionsonhumannature?Ifmenwereangels,nogovernmentwouldbenecessary.Ifangelsweretogovernmen,neitherexternalnorinternalcontrolsongovernmentwouldbenecessary."–JamesMadisonInCapitalismandFreedom(1962)MiltonFriedmanstates:"Thereisnoavoidingtheneedforsomemeasureofpaternalism.Thereisnoformulatellinguswheretostop....Wemustputourfaith,hereaselsewhere,inaconsensusreachedbybiasedandimperfectmenthroughfreediscussionandtrialanderror."Ingeneral,Friedman'sbriefargumentsforpragmaticstatepaternalismarelimitedtoparticularindividualsorcategoriesofindividuals—tomadmenandchildren—whomwebelieveincapableofactingrationallyandresponsibly.Friedman'slimitsonthebreadthofapplicationsareconsistentwithhisargumentsforfreedom:Withoutmostpeoplehavingthecapacitytoactindependentlytofurthertheirinterests,thecaseforeconomicandpoliticalfreedomisweakened.ThispaperreexaminestheFriedmanperspectiveonpaternalism,takingintoconsiderationbehavioralresearchovertheinterveningdecadessincethebookwaspublished.Thisresearchsuggeststhatthetypicalperson—notjustmadmanorchild—facesmanysituation—andcontext-specificreasoningbreakdowns.Theseproblemscanbecategorizedas(a)cognitivebiasesandcomputationfailuresand(b)"pre-rational"preferences,tiedtoanadapted(evolved)mindthatisnotnecessarilywell-suitedtoits21"centuryenvironment.Forthepurposesofthispaper,paternalismisnotaboutpoliciesappliedtothedeficientDouglasA.Houston105

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Metadata [hide]

Title	The Case for Paternalism Revisited: Updating the Friedman Critique
Authors/Creators:	Douglas A. Houston, University of Kansas
Year:	2005
Volume:	21
Number:	1
Pages:	105 - 122
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Paternalism, Cognitive psychology, Democracy, Knowledge, Milton Friedman, Government policy, Voucher system, Evolutionary psychology

Citation:
Houston, Douglas A. / 2005. "The Case for Paternalism Revisited: Updating the Friedman Critique." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 21(1): 105-122.