Passage A
Advocates of libertarian paternalism suggest that governments should implement "nudges"—policies that predictably alter citizen behavior without forbidding any options or significantly changing economic incentives. Because human beings suffer from bounded rationality and cognitive biases, they routinely make decisions that undermine their own long-term welfare, such as failing to save adequately for retirement. Nudges mitigate these failures by structuring choices so that the default option automatically aligns with the individual's best interests. Importantly, because nudges do not coerce or mandate, they preserve the individual's freedom of choice. Therefore, utilizing our understanding of human cognitive biases to architect choices is not merely morally permissible; it is a responsible exercise of state power that enhances citizen well-being without infringing on individual liberty.
Passage B
The current enthusiasm for choice architecture in public policy rests on a flawed conception of freedom. Proponents argue that as long as an individual can technically opt out of a default arrangement, their autonomy remains intact. However, this conflates formal liberty with genuine moral autonomy. By deliberately exploiting the very cognitive biases that lead to irrationality—such as inertia, framing effects, or anchoring—nudges intentionally bypass the citizen's rational deliberative capacities. True respect for autonomy requires governments to engage with citizens as rational agents through transparent argumentation and persuasion, not to manipulate them behind their backs. When the state shapes behavior by circumventing conscious deliberation, it infantilizes the populace and fundamentally disrespects their capacity for self-governance.
Based on the arguments presented, the authors of Passage A and Passage B would be most likely to disagree over the truth of which one of the following statements?
- Policies that intentionally bypass citizens' rational deliberative capacities to shape their behavior inherently violate their autonomy.Cevap
- BHuman beings frequently exhibit cognitive biases that lead them to act against their own best interests.
- CThe primary obligation of a government is to maximize the long-term material welfare of its citizens.
- DTransparent argumentation and persuasion are completely incapable of improving citizen decision-making.
- EPoliticians who implement choice architecture typically do so with the intention of expanding their own political power.