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Little Brother is Watching You: New Paternalism on the Slippery Slopes Mario J. Rizzo, Department of Economics Douglas G. Whitman, CSUN Download the Paper (PDF format) - April 8, 2008 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing. ABSTRACT: The "new paternalism" claims that careful policy interventions can help people make better decisions in terms of their own welfare, with only mild or nonexistent infringement of personal autonomy and choice. This claim to moderation is not sustainable. Applying the insights of the modern literature on slippery slopes to new paternalist policies suggests that such policies are particularly vulnerable to expansion. This is true even if policymakers are fully rational. More importantly, the slippery-slope potential is especially great if policymakers are not fully rational, but instead share the behavioral and cognitive biases attributed to the people their policies are supposed to help. Accepting the new paternalist approach creates a risk of accepting, in the long run, greater restrictions on individual autonomy than have been heretofore acknowledged. SUGGESTED CITATION: Mario J. Rizzo and Douglas G. Whitman, "Little Brother is Watching You: New Paternalism on the Slippery Slopes" (April 8, 2008). New York University School of Law. New York University Law and Economics Working Papers. Paper 126. http://lsr.nellco.org/nyu/lewp/papers/126 | REPOSITORY HOME  | SEARCH  | MY ACCOUNT  | NELLCO HOME | Powered by bepress.