‘Nudging’ us into a Corner

‘Nudging’ us into a Corner                    Sunstein elaborated a philosophy called ‘libertarian paternalism,’” said the Times, “Conservative economists have long stressed that because people are rational, the best way for government to serve the public is to guarantee a fair market and to otherwise get out of the way. But in the real world, Sunstein and Thaler argue, people are subject to all sorts of biases and quirks. They also argue that this human quality, which some would call irrationality, can be predicted and — this is the controversial part — that if the social environment can be changed, people might be nudged into more rational behavior.”
The unbiased and quirkless “rational” nudger in this case is the all-powerful state. And as we all know, “rational behavior” is in abundance among Washington’s ruling class.