From libertarian paternalism to liberalism: behavioural science and policy in an age of new technology

Behavioural science has been effectively used by policy makers in various domains, from health to savings. However, interventions that behavioural scientists typically employ to change behaviour have been at the centre of an ethical debate, given that they include elements of paternalism that have implications for people's freedom of choice. In the present article, we argue that this ethical debate could be resolved in the future through implementation and advancement of new technologies. We propose that several technologies which are currently available and are rapidly evolving (i.e., virtual and augmented reality, social robotics, gamification, self-quantification, and behavioural informatics) have a potential to be integrated with various behavioural interventions in a non-paternalistic way. More specifically, people would decide themselves which behaviours they want to change and select the technologies they want to use for this purpose, and the role of policy makers would be to develop transparent behavioural interventions for these technologies. In that sense, behavioural science would move from libertarian paternalism to liberalism, given that people would freely choose how they want to change, and policy makers would create technological interventions that make this change possible.

ORIGINS OF THE CONCEPT OF “LIBERTARIAN PATERNALISM” IN SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE: SOCIAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT

In the article, the authors attempt to analyze the various origins of libertarian paternalism - political, social, cultural, and try to explore the essence of this social and social phenomenon. Libertarian paternalism has both positive and negative features, which are actualized, in turn, by modern planetary challenges.The aim and the tasks: analysis of the essence of the social phenomenon of libertarian paternalism, and the study of its origins - political, social, cultural. Research methods are historical, structural and functional, systemic and equitable.For the revision of specific projects, it is also the principle of consistency, objectivity, convergence from the abstract to the concrete. Research results: Democracy and human rights have found themselves in the grip of challenges, to which both the government and the private sector of the economy in particular react in a peculiar way. In the civilized world, the problem of social protection is acute; an ordinary person dramatically perceives the massive pressure of advertising, the media, certain structures that are interested, first of all, in the early sale of their products - material, spiritual and social. Libertarian paternalism is seen by the authors as a possible way to reconcile these issues, especially from the point of view of protecting the human rights and freedoms. Discussion. In this regard, other authors note that in the practical implementation of Nudge technology, people rarely follow the ideal interpretation of private well-being in terms of full satisfaction of needs. Opponents suggest in this regard that people can be guided by temporary benefits in terms of irrational consumer behavior, that is, the socio-psychological bases of consumerism are affected. Conclusion. Libertarian paternalism was created as a reaction to political, economic and sociocultural changes in society under the impact of globalization, informatization and revision of social programs in the governments.The concept of libertarian paternalism and its practical implementation of nudge technology is relevant and promising in the context of a constant increase in the level of welfare of citizens. Libertarian paternalism affects the most subtle sociophilosophical, socio-psychological elements of the consciousness of an individual who has become hostage to government programs and private projects. The price of a rational choice of an individual is his own freedom, in the context of modern realities of social life.

Regulating high-cost short-term credit in the UK: is there scope for ‘libertarian paternalism’ based provisions?

The regulatory protection of credit consumers, in general, is paramount due to the considerable use of credit, the imbalanced bargaining positions of the contracting parties and the adverse effect of over-indebtedness on individuals and society alike. These concerning factors are worsened in the case of High-Cost Short-Term Credit (HCSTC) consumers owing to their disadvantaged financial position and other recognised vulnerabilities. In this respect, the paper argues that direct regulatory intervention, despite its importance, is not always a silver bullet. Through the analysis of the overhauling of the UK HCSTC regulatory framework, this paper demonstrates the shortfalls of these regulatory changes. Accordingly, the paper shifts the argument towards improving the decision-making mechanisms of HCSTC consumers, ie the role of ‘libertarian paternalism’-based interventions. By using a bespoke experimental survey, the paper demonstrates the type of behavioural interventions that can assist in this endeavour and which the regulator could possibly mandate.

Post-Neoliberalism? An Introduction

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on post-neoliberalism. It does so by considering challenges to the neoliberal order that have come, post-financial crisis, from the political right. It looks closely at the relation of neoliberalism to conservatism, on one hand, and libertarianism, on the other, in order to address the threat posed to the neoliberal order by paleoconservatism, neoreactionary politics, ordonationalism, libertarian paternalism, and different forms of sovereignty and elite power. The final section of this introduction reflects on the challenge to the neoliberal orthodoxy posed by the current COVID-19 crisis. For while events of 2020–21 have facilitated new forms of privatization of many public services and goods, they also signal, potentially, a break from the neoliberal orthodoxies of the previous four decades, and, in particular, from their overriding concern for the market.

تشخيص وخزات الاقتصاد السلوكي في خيارات الافراد دراسة استطلاعية لاراء عينة من الأساتذة والطلاب قسم الاقتصاد في كلية الادارة والاقتصاد

يعد الاقتصاد السلوكي أحدى الأدوات الحديثة لعلم الاقتصاد التي دمجت علم النفس المتغير مع الفرضيات الاقتصادية المجردة الأمر الذي ساهم في تفسير الكثير من سلوكيات الأفراد الغير عقلانية التي عجز عن تفسيرها الاقتصاد التقليدي ، وكذلك تغيير خياراتهم من دون اكراه ، وهذه الطريقة تسمى الأبوية الليبرالية (libertarian paternalism ) ، اذ يعتمد الاقتصاد السلوكي في عمله على تأثيرات مخفية تحاكي الجانب النفسي والغير عقلاني للأفراد ومن ثم تؤدي الى التاثير في سلوكهم ، وتسمى هذه التاثيرات بالوخزات ، وفي هذا البحث قمنا باستقصاء فعالية عدة انواع من الوخزات في تغير سلوك الافراد . استخدم الباحث أسلوب الأستبيان لمعرفة طريقة عمل الوخزة وتأثيراتها على قرارت الأفراد، وتبين من البحث بأن اثر هذه الوخزات كبير وفعال في تغير قرارات الأفراد، فضلا عن امكانية الاستفادة منها في رسم السياسات الاقتصادية عن طريق تبنيها ودمجها في الكثير من المجالات الاقتصادية للمساعدة في تحقيق حياة أفضل للمجتمع دون تقييد حرية الأفراد.

Models of Consumer Behavior on the Example of Generations

The article considers modern models of consumer behavior depending on the market situation in society: models of a rational consumer of the neoclassical school, a model of a socio-economic person, neoinstitutionalism, the doctrine of "libertarian paternalism" and a marketing model of a black box. A method for substantiating consumer behavior based on the concept of marketing experiences is proposed. The behavioral characteristics of people are considered on the example of generations BB, X, Y and Z. It is substantiated that it is the value basis that has formed among representatives of generations BB and Y that continues to have a significant impact on social networks and “opinion leaders”.

Nudge Economics as Libertarian Paternalism

Given the growing prominence of nudge economics both within and beyond the academy, it is a timely moment to reassess the philosophical and political arguments that sit at its core, and in particular what Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein call libertarian paternalism. The first half of this paper provides a detailed account of the main features of this form of paternalism, before moving, in the second half, to a critical evaluation of the nudge agenda that questions, among other things, the gendered basis of paternalistic governance; the idea of ‘nudging for good’; and the political values that underpin nudge. The final section of this paper builds on the existing work of John McMahon by asking whether libertarian paternalism should be understood as a new, hybrid form of neoliberalism, or, rather, as a post-neoliberal form of governance that has emerged out of, and flourished in, the post-crisis situation.