To What Extent Should the State Protect Human Beings from Themselves?

Abstract

Nudging could seem to be attractive from a human rights perspective if this nudging would lead to a realization of human rights. At the same time it is precisely part of the nucleus of human rights to protect the individual from heteronomy, respectively from abuse of power by a collective. In other words, human rights protect all the powerless from the powerful. Human beings enjoy human rights as individuals, independent of any collective. However, human rights struggle also with the particular interests of states and non-state actors. Furthermore, from a human rights perspective, there is a necessity to respect the autonomy of an individual in order to remain coherent with the core concept of human rights. This necessity to respect the autonomy of an individual goes as far as that human rights themselves need a moral justification because autonomy entails knowing why one’s freedom should be restricted by somebody or something. Therefore the questions arise if and how this aspect could be combined with the above-mentioned argumentation that the end would justify the means, and if and how nudging could be justified. In the following paper these issues will be addressed and it will be attempted to develop a solution to the question as to what extent the state should protect human beings from themselves.