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Liberty and the Post-utilitarian Society

Author

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  • Gilles Saint-Paul

Abstract

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. The author elucidates how 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. He concludes that 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.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Gilles Saint-Paul, 2013. "Liberty and the Post-utilitarian Society," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 119-126, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecaffa:v:33:y:2013:i:1:p:119-126
    DOI: 10.1111/ecaf.2013.33.issue-1
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    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Sin taxes and liberty
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-12-21 21:02:00
    2. It Would be Well if Economics Were Modest for it has Much to be Modest About
      by William Black in New Economic Perspectives on 2015-01-15 18:15:44

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General

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