6 of 21

Write now Article Tools

There are many ways governments manipulate their populace. The simple enactment of any policy or law will serve to manipulate people into or away from particular behaviors. In most cases, this is a good thing. Societies need order and security, and some of these methods are ideal to influence large numbers and groups of people. Without compliance and obedience to the laws and policies of government, there would be chaos.

A relatively new field in the news lately is called behavioral economics. It brings together psychology and economics. In its simplest form, it involves financial incentives or penalties directly tied to behavior. It makes the assumption that people will inherently make bad choices and they need a slight push toward the right decisions.

On targeted populations, behavioral economics can be a good thing as well. One example cited took place in a small town that had a higher than normal teen pregnancy rate. Authorities implemented a program that paid teen mothers $1 a day for every day they kept from getting pregnant again. The program illustrated the power of a financial incentive, however small, in nudging people toward making the right decisions. Teen pregnancy rates under the program dropped significantly.

This is timely because the Obama administration is an advocate of it, only on a much larger scale. This is evident in the program just started where people can trade in a gas-guzzling car for a new fuel efficient one and get a $4500 government incentive. One of the problems with this program, aside for the $1B of taxpayer money to be spent on it, is that its intent is not to conserve fuel, but to boost sales of American made General Motors and Chrysler vehicles. It manipulates people on a massive scale to purchase vehicles they wouldn't otherwise buy. Another problem is that it invites fraud by those who would obtain a salvaged vehicle worth much less, just to trade it in for the government incentive.

Behavioral economics, when instituted on a national level, is a poor excuse for manipulation, but it is manipulation. It is meant to force people into making decisions that support the government agenda, but the decisions are not those the people would make if they had the choice. For example, when gas prices are extraordinarily high, it supports the government agenda of not drilling in Anwar or off our coasts to produce more domestic oil, but it also reduces the demand because people drive less and use less energy. Less demand means less imported

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Should governments try to manipulate the personal behavior of citizens??
We want to hear your view. Write now!