CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Peic, Josip |
|---|---|
| Title | Right Preference Theory and Nudge-Acceptability |
| Summary | Libertarian paternalism is a standpoint that aims to synthesize decision-making influence and the preservation of autonomy. However, critics (White 2013) state that this intention is both epistemologically unattainable (because policymakers do not have the appropriate knowledge about people’s preferences) and ethically objectionable (because policymakers have to use their own preferences as the foundation for policy recommendations). In the study at hand I refute both of the aforementioned objections. The former objection is refuted by philosophical arguments, while the latter is refuted by empirical investigation. I conduct survey research and use a paired-sample t-test and multiple regression analysis. The main findings of the study show that libertarian paternalism 1) is not an epistemologically problematic standpoint because policymakers have access to people’s right preferences and 2) is not an ethically objectionable standpoint because people themselves are ready to accept influence on their autonomous choice depending on the area in which the influence occurs. |
| Supervisor | Gabor Toka |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/peic_josip.pdf |
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