So, what is Sunstein’s point in all this, then? It is wrapped up in his last paragraph (my bold).
No one should deny that freedom of choice is a central part of a good life. Paternalism can be a serious mistake, especially if it eliminates that form of freedom and overrides people’s judgments about their own ends. Education, warnings, and other nudges usually have big advantages over mandates and bans, precisely because they allow people to go their own way. But legitimate concerns about illegitimate paternalism should not be allowed to prevent officials from seeking to identify the best ways to improve people’s lives, even if they end up influencing people’s choices.
The point, dear reader, for this apologia for Bloomberg nanny-statism, is that we must not let the fact that government has in too many ways become an oppressive, un-American institution bent on cradle-to-the-grave control of every second of our lives get in the way of more of the same. And we must turn in our God-given, natural-born liberty cards and allow those smarter than we–those like Obama and Sunstein–have a free hand to dabble.
After all, it’s for our own good.
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