The Economics of Paternalism

EconTalk

• Episode: The Economics of Paternalism
• Website: EconTalk
• Feed URL: http://files.libertyfund.org/econtalk/EconTalk.xml
• Duration: 00:43:50
• Published: 2006-09-18 08:45

Economist Ed Glaeser of Harvard University talks with host Russ Roberts about the dangers of soft paternalism--various forms of government regulation that fall short of outright bans or taxes but that are meant to correct alleged flaws in the choices we make. Glaeser argues that while individuals do inevitably make mistakes, so do politicians, and the concentration of power in the hands of the few makes government "benevolence" particularly dangerous.