Nudge

After reading this piece I felt that I had to write a blog about it. I got that “mind blown” feeling when reading it. I’m talking specifically about the concept of nudging. It makes so much sense, and now that I know about it I feel like it’s something that will never leave my mind. It’s so obvious that it can be used as a topic, and I find it strange that I’d never heard about it before. But I digress.

The piece describes an example of a woman who is the food service director for a system of elementary schools. It demonstrates how food choices made by students could be influenced by the strategic positioning of different items. This is an example of libertarian paternalism. As the piece describes, there are negative connotations associated with the term. However I think libertarian paternalism can be a good thing. At the very least, I don’t think it crosses any lines.

This concept of nudging is a good way to get people to "do the right thing" without making them feel compelled or pressured. "Libertarian paternalists want to make it easy for people to go their own way...to make choosers better off, as judged by themselves," the piece states.

The critics of libertarian paternalism make it out to be some "big brother" concept that forces people to make decisions the way the government wants them to. However, they key of the concept is that no one is forced to do anything. When you walk into a supermarket, you are bombarded with libertarian paternalism. A large amount of research goes into the layout and placement of all merchandise in any supermarket chain. The structure of the layout does not restrict anyone into buying or not buying certain products. But it does influence people's choices, for better or worse.

Regardless of the benefits or drawbacks of libertarian paternalism, I believe that it can't hurt anything, and I disagree with the critics that relate it to a form of coercion.