Perfectionism and paternalism

This entry considers the complex relationship between perfectionist politics and state paternalism. It discusses four main claims. These are that perfectionism in politics does not entail state paternalism, that a subset of state paternalistic policies has a perfectionist rationale, that perfectionist justice can require state paternalism, and that perfectionist state paternalism need not contravene a plausible principle of respect for persons. In discussing these four claims, the entry emphasizes that not all state paternalism is perfectionist, but that there is a type of state paternalism that has a distinctively perfectionist rationale. It critically analyzes a range of considerations that speak in favor of, and against, this type of distinctively perfectionist state paternalism.