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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.

Welfare economics. --- Utilitarianism. --- Paternalism. --- Public welfare. --- Benevolent institutions --- Poor relief --- Public assistance --- Public charities --- Public relief --- Public welfare --- Public welfare reform --- Relief (Aid) --- Social welfare --- Welfare (Public assistance) --- Welfare reform --- Parentalism --- Government policy --- Human services --- Social service --- Social classes --- Social control --- Social systems --- Economic policy --- Economics --- Social policy --- Ethics --- Hedonism --- Philosophy --- Welfare economics --- Utilitarianism --- Paternalism --- E-books --- 201 --- 305.6 --- 321.2 --- AA / International- internationaal --- Sociologie: algemeenheden --- Risicotheorie, speltheorie. Risicokapitaal. Beslissingsmodellen --- Economisch beleid van de overheid --- Coasian view. --- Freudianism. --- Friedrich Nietzsche. --- Lockean theory. --- Man. --- Pareto improvements. --- Pigovian taxation. --- Postmodernism. --- addictive goods. --- autonomy. --- behavioral biases. --- behavioral economics. --- behavioral issues. --- behavioral problems. --- cognitive capacity. --- competitive markets. --- consistent behavior. --- consistent self. --- divine order. --- economic theory. --- economics. --- externality. --- financial capacity. --- free markets. --- global efficiency. --- government control. --- government intervention. --- government intrusion. --- government involvement. --- happiness. --- incarnations. --- incentives. --- individual freedom. --- individual liberty. --- individual rights. --- individual welfare. --- individual well-being. --- individualistic values. --- intellectual apparatus. --- intellectual safeguard. --- laissez-faire. --- legitimacy of power. --- libertarian paternalism. --- limited government. --- limited liability. --- market interactions. --- markets. --- modern paternalism. --- objective reality. --- paternalism. --- paternalistic governments. --- paternalistic intervention. --- paternalistic interventions. --- paternalistic policies. --- paternalistic state. --- penalties. --- policy prescriptions. --- political economy critique. --- political institutions. --- population distribution. --- post-utilitarian paradigm. --- post-utilitarianism. --- price restrictions. --- psychological phenomena. --- public policy. --- rational phenomena. --- responsibility transfer. --- revealed preferences. --- self-consciousness. --- self-reported happiness. --- sin tax. --- social contract. --- social engineer. --- social planner. --- social preferences. --- social sciences. --- state involvement. --- statistics. --- transactions. --- unique self. --- unitary individual. --- utilitarian social policy. --- utilitarian state. --- utilitarianism. --- utility. --- voluntary transactions. --- welfare.