Talk:Paternalism

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[edit] Definition

"Paternalism refers to a policy that prevents others from doing harm to themselves or a belief in such policies." - I believe that this statement is incorrect. The Oxford English Dictionary defines paternalism as "the policy of restricting the freedom and responsibilities of one's subordinates or dependants in their supposed best interest". This is clearly more accurate. The crux is that the justification is "it's in your own best interest", and the scope extends beyond avoiding harm, and includes forcing people to do something because it's better than the alternative, even though that alternative may not be harmful. For example, if I wanted to become an accountant, but because of a governmental psychometric testing policy I was forced to become a lawyer on the grounds that this was the optimum profession for me, and therefore it would be for my own good if I was to pursue it, then what has been averted (my becoming an accountant) was neither harmful to myself nor others. Nevertheless, the government's policy would be described as extreme paternalism. VivaEmilyDavies 00:00, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Good point, would you like to help me rewrite the article? Sam Spade 15:14, 14 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

Somebody had written this in the article itself. I removed it and put a NPOV-tag there instead.

I do not know how to report pages, but this article obviously lacks any sort of neutrality. Look at the picture to the right, this is ridiculous. Whoever wrote this refers to paternalism as something that is "suffered from". Paternalism, as a basis for a social structure, began to deteriorate in the latter half of the 19th century. Why are you talking about the World Bank? This article is clearly informed only by radical modern interpretations of its negative influences, and is indisputably driven by politics rather than a desire to present objective information. I am assuming this will be deleted, but I would like it if a flag could be put up denoting a lack of neutrality. It's this type of revisionism that exposes wikipedia's weaknesses as an otherwise thoroughly reliable, democratic source of information.

Here is the original article, yeah, it starts with "For Example" and never actually defines the term:

--Dnalor 20:42, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

This article is messy, and has an obvious anti-paternalism POV. That needs to be repaired. Sam Spade 15:14, 14 May 2005 (UTC)

Hi, I tried to NPOVise a bit. Remove the NPOV tag yourselves if you think it is acceptable now. --Orzetto 08:17, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Removing NPOV tag since no objections were made. --Orzetto 07:34, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Opponents of Paternalism

I removed this small paragraph: "Opponents of Paternalism point out that if we are left to be free on our own eveneutally we will be able to overcome the downfalls of a more free society such as in the area's of free trade and global economic unification." because it made no sense to me at all. It cold be that I'm slow today, though, so if you can make sense of it, put it back in, and please explain it here. Also, if it is put in, it needs to have verification. Arbadihist 19:03, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I think the neutrallity of this part is seriously in question. Read the following: "In favour, it could be said that every state is "paternalist" to a degree. Even the state's creation and protection of individual property rights might be interpreted as "paternalistic". The descriptions of the origin of the state by Aristotle see it as an extension of the family, and this description seems a lot more realistic than the social contract analogies of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Rawls." This is personal opinion ("seems a lot more realistic") than an expressioin of facts. Needs revision! bhs 12:45, 6 June 2006 (UTC)