Assessing libertarian paternalism through John Neville Keynes' tripartite categorization of economics -

Abstract

Libertarian paternalism has been recently advocated by behavioral economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein as a form of paternalism distinguished by its libertarian nature. Libertarian paternalism draws on the findings of new behavioral economics in order to justify choice architecture and nudge theory. However, paternalism has been criticized over time on the ground that it obstructs the promotion of welfare through value substitution, hinders freedom of choice, and violates the dignity of autonomous beings. Therefore, the question of whether libertarian paternalism is a modified or a reinvented form of paternalism has recently arisen. This thesis adopts the tripartite categorization of economics advocated by John Neville Keynes in the late 19th century in order to assess libertarian paternalism. Neville Keynes identifies three aspects of economics namely the positive aspect, the normative aspect and the art of economics. As such, new behavioral economics qualifies as the positive part of libertarian paternalism, paternalism as the normative part, and the application of libertarian paternalism to public policy as the art of economics. Evaluating libertarian paternalism through Neville Keynes' tripartite categorization shows that libertarian paternalism is not a complete theory yet.