The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism
The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism is about policies that try to stop people damaging their own health. From the point of view of public health advocates, if people did not smoke, or drank less alcohol, or kept off junk food and sugary liquids, they would tend to be healthier. Hence such tactic...
Сохранить в:
| Главный автор: | |
|---|---|
| Формат: | Online |
| Язык: | английский |
| Опубликовано: |
Oxford University Press
2025
|
| Предметы: | |
| Online-ссылка: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100518 |
| Метки: |
Нет меток, Требуется 1-ая метка записи!
|
| _version_ | 1869516027665055744 |
|---|---|
| author | Wilkinson, T.M. |
| author_browse | Wilkinson, T.M. |
| author_facet | Wilkinson, T.M. |
| author_sort | Wilkinson, T.M. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism is about policies that try to stop people damaging their own health. From the point of view of public health advocates, if people did not smoke, or drank less alcohol, or kept off junk food and sugary liquids, they would tend to be healthier. Hence such tactics as taxing tobacco, restricting the sale of alcohol, and limiting the density of fast-food outlets. These tactics are often pejoratively described as the actions of a ‘nanny state’ that overvalues health and wrongly infringes on the autonomy of adults. But many of us want to be healthy rather than ill, and alive rather than dead. Does a state really nanny us when it uses its power to make us healthier? If it does, should it stop? Some public health policies might reduce inequities of health, or save costs in medical treatment, or correct market failures. But, as this book shows, many would not. The best case for many public health interventions is paternalistic, aiming to steer people away from making unhealthy choices against their own interests. But even though it is the best case, it often fails. It advocates overvalue health and undervalue autonomy. They exaggerate the influence of addiction and the marketing of unhealthy products. Except for smoking, we do not have the evidence needed to show that unhealthy choices are so mistaken as to justify the interventions. Many public health interventions probably make their targets worse off and infringe on their autonomy without having compensating benefits to other people. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-158097 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| publisherStr | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1580972025-07-30T09:00:09Z The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism Wilkinson, T.M. Nanny state; value of health; preferences for health; autonomy; unhealthy choices; sin taxes; advertising; market failure thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism is about policies that try to stop people damaging their own health. From the point of view of public health advocates, if people did not smoke, or drank less alcohol, or kept off junk food and sugary liquids, they would tend to be healthier. Hence such tactics as taxing tobacco, restricting the sale of alcohol, and limiting the density of fast-food outlets. These tactics are often pejoratively described as the actions of a ‘nanny state’ that overvalues health and wrongly infringes on the autonomy of adults. But many of us want to be healthy rather than ill, and alive rather than dead. Does a state really nanny us when it uses its power to make us healthier? If it does, should it stop? Some public health policies might reduce inequities of health, or save costs in medical treatment, or correct market failures. But, as this book shows, many would not. The best case for many public health interventions is paternalistic, aiming to steer people away from making unhealthy choices against their own interests. But even though it is the best case, it often fails. It advocates overvalue health and undervalue autonomy. They exaggerate the influence of addiction and the marketing of unhealthy products. Except for smoking, we do not have the evidence needed to show that unhealthy choices are so mistaken as to justify the interventions. Many public health interventions probably make their targets worse off and infringe on their autonomy without having compensating benefits to other people. 2025-04-03T10:31:06Z 2025-04-03T10:31:06Z 2025-04-02T13:02:53Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100518 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/158097 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/100518/1/isbn-9780198895817.pdf Oxford University Press 10.1093/ 9780191997976.001.0001 10.1093/ 9780191997976.001.0001 db4e319f-ca9f-449a-bcf2-37d7c6f885b1 ba6f2969-985e-4d6e-8b5b-483677587b07 73c44324-2dea-4efb-9052-e3608c2b12ed 256 Oxford University of Auckland University of Auckland, New Zealand 10.13039/501100001537 open access |
| spellingShingle | Nanny state; value of health; preferences for health; autonomy; unhealthy choices; sin taxes; advertising; market failure thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management Wilkinson, T.M. The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title_full | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title_fullStr | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title_short | The Ethics of Public Health Paternalism |
| title_sort | ethics of public health paternalism |
| topic | Nanny state; value of health; preferences for health; autonomy; unhealthy choices; sin taxes; advertising; market failure thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management |
| topic_facet | Nanny state; value of health; preferences for health; autonomy; unhealthy choices; sin taxes; advertising; market failure thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBF Social and ethical issues::JBFV Ethical issues and debates thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDT Topics in philosophy::QDTS Social and political philosophy thema EDItEUR::K Economics, Finance, Business and Management::KJ Business and Management |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/100518 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wilkinsontm theethicsofpublichealthpaternalism AT wilkinsontm ethicsofpublichealthpaternalism |