Taking Liberties: A Critical Examination of Libertarian Paternalism

Libertarian Paternalists claim to have reconciled two radically different perspectives, offering a "Third Way" for contemporary democratic governments. In this book, Riccardo Rebonato offers a critical exploration of a philosophy which has taken the political landscape by storm, counting the US and UK administrations amongst its followers.Taking Liberties examines the justification behind the different tools that are being used to modify individual behavior, and it demonstrates that these approaches are not only insidious and deeply manipulative, but that they can have unintended consequences. More importantly, Rebonato poses the concerning question: in the event that the state's objectives do not coincide with the objectives of the individual, who monitors the state?