The nanny state is a derogatory term to describe parliament’s attempts to legislate to compel, restrict or financially dissuade individuals in their actions for their own good. Paternalism, as philosophers will call it, is the gender neutral expression used here.
My membership, and later committee membership as Parliamentary Officer, with the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) helped me understand the reasoning behind paternalistic legislation from all angles. My DPhil thesis was a cross-disciplinary study using political theory and political science on the case studies of motorcycle helmet, car seat belt and cycle helmet compulsion.
Categories: Paternalism, Policy
Calls to raise the minimum age for driving a car occur when there is media attention on high profile accidents involving the young. Evidence is usually ignored and obvious questions remain unanswered. This article examines the effects of raising the driving age using lessons learned from raising the motorcycling age in 1972.
Categories: Paternalism
In 2006, I contributed to a study by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics to a report being compiled to examine the ethical dimension of interventions for the individual’s own good. Areas covered were infectious disease, obesity, fluoridation of water and alcohol and smoking.
Categories: Paternalism
As a member of the Political Studies Association, I presented a paper at this specialist group conference on the difference between the public understanding of the passage of legislation in the House of Commons and the reality. This includes the amount of legislation passed with a tiny proportion of members voting or ‘on the nod’ because a quorum is not present.
Categories: Paternalism
My DPhil thesis was a cross-disciplinary study including libertarian political theory, political philosophy and issue groups within the British parliamentary processes. The case studies are compulsory motorcycle helmets, car seat belts and cycle helmets.
Categories: Paternalism
As a further development of my conference paper at Warwick University in 1999, I presented this paper at Sussex.
Categories: Paternalism
I presented this paper at Warwick explaining the various exceptions to Mill’s principle against paternalism but concentrating on the philosophical arguments on the protection of one’s future self as another person.
Categories: Paternalism
An early paper on the justifications of paternalism based on exceptions to Mill’s principle of liberty proposed by philosophical arguments and their examination.