PHIL 316 Chapter Notes - Chapter Dixon: Schadenfreude, Knockout, Libertarian Paternalism
8 Jul 2016
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Soft paternalism is a form of paternalism meant to protect people from the results of inautonomous requests or actions. Essentially, intervention is acceptable when the person making the decision has no autonomy. For example, the mentally ill should not have the power to make decisions since their condition impedes their ability to do so. Dixon thinks this could support a restriction on boxing for several reasons. The first is that the boxers do not have enough information to make a choice. They don"t know about the likelihood of acquiring brain damage, which makes this type of agreement a coercive one. Another reason is that the people who become boxers are usually from a poor background and have entered that field in hopes that they will one day rise out of poverty. Because their primary goal is compensation, they are forced to sacrifice their own values because there is no other viable option.
