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The Tyranny of Utility : Behavioral Social Science and the Rise of Paternalism / Gilles Saint-Paul.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2011]Copyright date: ©2011Edition: Course BookDescription: 1 online resource (176 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780691128177
  • 9781400838899
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 330.12 23
LOC classification:
  • HB846 .S25 2017
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I. The Demise of the Unitary Individual -- 1. Political Organization and the Conception of Man -- 2. The Challenge to the Unitary Individual in Western Thought -- 3. Economics: The Last Bastion of Rationality -- 4. Economics Goes Behavioral -- 5. From Utility to Happiness -- Part II. The Rise of Paternalism -- Introduction -- 6. Post-Utilitarianism: Searching for a Collective Soul in the Behavioral Era -- 7. The Policy Prescriptions of Behavioral Economics -- 8. The Modern Paternalistic State -- 9. Responsibility Transfer -- 10. The Role of Science -- 11. Markets in a Paternalistic World -- 12. Where to Go? -- References -- Index
Summary: The general assumption that social policy should be utilitarian--that society should be organized to yield the greatest level of welfare--leads inexorably to increased government interventions. Historically, however, the science of economics has advocated limits to these interventions for utilitarian reasons and because of the assumption that people know what is best for themselves. But more recently, behavioral economics has focused on biases and inconsistencies in individual behavior. Based on these developments, governments now prescribe the foods we eat, the apartments we rent, and the composition of our financial portfolios. The Tyranny of Utility takes on this rise of paternalism and its dangers for individual freedoms, and examines how developments in economics and the social sciences are leading to greater government intrusion in our private lives. Gilles Saint-Paul posits that the utilitarian foundations of individual freedom promoted by traditional economics are fundamentally flawed. When combined with developments in social science that view the individual as incapable of making rational and responsible choices, utilitarianism seems to logically call for greater governmental intervention in our lives. Arguing that this cannot be defended on purely instrumental grounds, Saint-Paul calls for individual liberty to be restored as a central value in our society. Exploring how behavioral economics is contributing to the excessive rise of paternalistic interventions, The Tyranny of Utility presents a controversial challenge to the prevailing currents in economic and political discourse.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781400838899

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I. The Demise of the Unitary Individual -- 1. Political Organization and the Conception of Man -- 2. The Challenge to the Unitary Individual in Western Thought -- 3. Economics: The Last Bastion of Rationality -- 4. Economics Goes Behavioral -- 5. From Utility to Happiness -- Part II. The Rise of Paternalism -- Introduction -- 6. Post-Utilitarianism: Searching for a Collective Soul in the Behavioral Era -- 7. The Policy Prescriptions of Behavioral Economics -- 8. The Modern Paternalistic State -- 9. Responsibility Transfer -- 10. The Role of Science -- 11. Markets in a Paternalistic World -- 12. Where to Go? -- References -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

The general assumption that social policy should be utilitarian--that society should be organized to yield the greatest level of welfare--leads inexorably to increased government interventions. Historically, however, the science of economics has advocated limits to these interventions for utilitarian reasons and because of the assumption that people know what is best for themselves. But more recently, behavioral economics has focused on biases and inconsistencies in individual behavior. Based on these developments, governments now prescribe the foods we eat, the apartments we rent, and the composition of our financial portfolios. The Tyranny of Utility takes on this rise of paternalism and its dangers for individual freedoms, and examines how developments in economics and the social sciences are leading to greater government intrusion in our private lives. Gilles Saint-Paul posits that the utilitarian foundations of individual freedom promoted by traditional economics are fundamentally flawed. When combined with developments in social science that view the individual as incapable of making rational and responsible choices, utilitarianism seems to logically call for greater governmental intervention in our lives. Arguing that this cannot be defended on purely instrumental grounds, Saint-Paul calls for individual liberty to be restored as a central value in our society. Exploring how behavioral economics is contributing to the excessive rise of paternalistic interventions, The Tyranny of Utility presents a controversial challenge to the prevailing currents in economic and political discourse.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)