File spoon-archives/marxism.archive/marxism_1995/95-04-30.000, message 270


Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 21:28:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: Justin Schwartz <jschwart-AT-freenet.columbus.oh.us>
Subject: Re: interests -Reply


On Wed, 12 Apr 1995, jwalker wrote:

> > 
> Well, I think Lisa was right to be antsy about talk of what's in people's 
> interest, once that's separated from what people actually (happen to) 
> desire.

Don't be silly. I want to smoke, which I do. But it's obviously not in my
interest to smoke.

  It may be true that noting that something is in a person's 
> interest even though they don't think it is, isn't strictly speaking 
> sufficient to justify coercing that person to do that thing.  But that's 
> the sort of consideration people invoke when they _do_ want to justify 
> paternalism.

Sure, but that's an obvious mistake.
> 
> What's more, interest-talk does seem to establish _some_ sort of case for 
> getting people to do things.  For if something's in your interest, then 
> it'd be good for you to do, have, or be that thing.  And if it'd be good, 
> then that sure _sounds_ like a reason, of some strength, to do it.  
> 
Well, it's a reason for you to do it. It's not on the face of it a reason
for you to be made to do it whether you want to or not.

> There may be countervailing reasons, of course.  But they're not all that 
> easy to find and articulate.  As you note, Justin, Mill's case against 
> paternalism is epistemological, and hence it's contingent and 
> rebuttable.  I wonder if there's a better one.

Well, all reasons are prima facie, contingemt and rebuttable. As a parent,
I take a very paternalist attitude towards my kids. When I was a teacher I
was moderately paternalist towards mny students, though less so than many
of my colleagues. As a society many people support various paternalist
policies, e.g., about drug use. Paternalism ought to be regarded with some
suspicion. But it isn;t false by definition. As to other grounds for
nonpaternalis, how about my suggestion that choice and the freedom to make
mistakes is a fundamental human interest which should be overriden only
with great caution?

--Justin Schwartz




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