Whats Wrong With Paternalism?
There are three layers to the argument against paternalism. The first layer is purely libertarian, which says that government compulsion of individuals is always wrong. The second layer is utilitarian, which says that, contrary to the intuition of Steven Weinberg and others on the left, we are better off with a larger private sector and a smaller public sector. The final layer is what in economics is known as Public Choice Theory, which says that it is unrealistic to expect government officials to be wise and benevolent, given that they themselves are mere mortals with human desires and human flaws. Pure Libertarianism Pure libertarianism argues that freedom and dignity of the individual is of paramount importance. Pure libertarians would say that it is wrong to tax the rich to pay for health care for the poor. If Bill Gates and Warren Buffet want to contribute to charities that help the poor, that is fine. But if they want to spend their wealth on other goods and services, who are we
