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Liberty and the post-utilitarian society

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  • Saint-Paul, Gilles

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2012. "Liberty and the post-utilitarian society," TSE Working Papers 12-334, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    • Handle: RePEc:tse:wpaper:26144
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kahneman, Daniel & Knetsch, Jack L & Thaler, Richard H, 1990. "Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1325-1348, December.
    2. David Laibson, 1997. "Golden Eggs and Hyperbolic Discounting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 443-478.
    3. Thaler, Richard, 1980. "Toward a positive theory of consumer choice," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 39-60, March.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "Paternalism and Psychology," NBER Working Papers 11789, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    behavioural economics; utilitarianism; government; paternalism;
    All these keywords.

    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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