Libertarians Against Nudging

Yes, Virginia. Will Wilkinson does the world a service and gives Glen Whitman plenty of space to air his deep concerns with nudgetarianism. At a recent panel discussing prospects for libertarian/liberal relations, I asked whether the real trouble, as opposed to liberaltarianism, wasn’t actually progressivism. After all, small-l liberalism and small-l libertarianism have certain affinities that needn’t result in progressive outcomes, even smart paternalist ones of the sort touted by the Nudge brigades. When big-L liberals and libertarians get together, the danger, as I’m seeing it, is that the Liberals become less liberal and the libertarians become less libertarian. It’s nice to see even some liberal-friendly libertarians recognize how serious the consequences of such a wrong turn could be.