Is government intervention in obesity justified?
Over at The Atlantic, Megan McArdle suggests a test for when the government can justifiably intervene to combat obesity:
Whether a dish was dreamed up by Mario Batali or the staff at the Cheesecake Factory, preventing people from having it “for their own good” still represents an actual hedonic loss, as well as an actual loss of freedom. You may think they have some meta-self which will thank you later, but their current self has still had both its liberty and its joy restricted. Invoking the demon food scientists of agribusiness does not actually relieve you of the obligation to prove that intervening in the liberty of both the customers and the company is morally pressing.
This is another iteration of what could be called the “perfectionism” debate. Perfectionism is a doctrine that suggests government can have a point of view about what’s “best” for people, and then can try and realize that perspective through laws and regulations.
Most vice laws regulating tobacco, alcohol, and gambling are examples of perfectionism in practice. What I find strange about perfectionism is that it’s never really a moral debate. It’s a cultural one.
As soon as one side puts up enough advertisements about moral decay or physical harm — rather than actually convincing anyone — then that side wins. The tobacco industry has lost the slow war of attrition against the regulators, primarily through an effective communications campaign centered on children.
The anti-obesity and chronic disease crowd has struck some blows through films like Super SIze Me, but they have a distance left to climb. Suffice it to say, when there is a Dorito-tax, it won’t be because we decided the encroachment on individual liberty was morally worth it.
–Sam
Related posts:
- Obesity and personal responsibility
- Government incentives revisited
- Is Fatism justified?
- Why should we regulate tobacco?
- Can government ban fast food?
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10 Responses to “Is government intervention in obesity justified?”
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The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the notion of a calorie tax. Let people eat whatever they want, just make sure they’re aware and are “paying forward” when we have to liposuction their asses because they can’t fit into a standard airline seat.
But seriously, our society is incurring huge costs to accommodate individuals’ “freedom” to get fat, clog their veins, and develop diabetes. I in no way advocate stopping anyone from eating as they wish (note the infamous Michael Phelps 4 billion calorie diet), but for those who consistently engage in unhealthy activities need to pay for it.
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