Antonios perhaps just a phrasing issue but I found your generalisations to be very unfair to the right. Clearly a section of the right is as you describe but many share most of the values you attribute to the left.

R0bert

The New Paternalism — an article from The Chronicle Review. "An economist and a legal scholar argue that policy makers should nudge people into making good decisions."

It's well worth a look if you have the time.

http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=pwq4w52rk7wg916xkfflm6r43x0h2d5s

R0bert
Are you sure that you are RIGHT? You are sensitive, polite and probably fair person. You are not simple RIGHT but enlightened right! as Petros Gergiou is an enlightened right MP.
Robert Sorry! It is seemed that I took the best from the lefts and the worst from the rights or the most known from the rights as BUSH, HOWARD, and other conservatives hawks.
Robert my goal is not the confrontation but the understanding and cooperation between people from different political parties. I trust more a simple person from an other party than an officer from left parties.
Are you ready to cooperate with lefts (people)for a specif goal? What do you think about the paid maternity leave?
The European right parties support it. This is part from the fundamental European rights. Why not in Australia? Why ONLY Australia and USA do not pay maternity leave from the whole world?
Do you love Australian mothers? Do you love Australian babies? Do you want more Australians than migrants? THEN LET'S SUPPORT AUSTRALIAN MOTHERS. ENCOURAGE THEM FOR MORE CHILDREN!
I AM READY TO COOPERATE WITH YOU AND OTHER RIGHT (AND LEFT) PEOPLE FOR THIS PURPOSE, IF YOU AGREE LET'S START ALL TOGETHER, LEFT AND RIGHT, FOR PAID MATERNITY LEAVE!
Regards
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Vanilla

That was a very interesting read - 'New Paternalism'

Making it easy for people to simply 'do the right thing' - like an opt-out of organ donation, rather than trying to persuade people to register for organ donation. Stuff like that.

Incentives, gentle nudges - I thought the decreasing spaces between lines across the road was a very clever way to induce people to slow at particular road hazards.

Haven't a lot of time ATM. But found the article well worth the read and gave me a lot to think about.

Not sure about the LABEL though - have had enough 'paternalism' new or old.

:-))

Antonios, I've commented on the maternity leave thing on other threads. I remain undecided about it, I see both good and bad points in the suggestion. One thing I am very clear about is that it should be parenting leave rather than maternity leave with the parents involved making the decision based on their circumstances and priorities rather than a gender based system which entrenches gender roles which are hurting both men and women.

The tendency to see greater wrong in those on "the other side" is a common one. I've often been bemused by the apparent moral outrage from the left at Howards lies from people who did not seem to care about Hawkes or those of state labor leaders. You have probably seen the Gibo's "Inept Governments" thread where he won't discuss examples of ineptness from the liberal government.

I've tended to find many of the best people on OLO are nominally on the other side of the political spectrum from myself. Thats part of the greatness of these forums if we are willing to let it be so.

R0bert

Steel, I may be anti drugs and anti prostitution but I do not urge that we either outlaw prostitution or run around locking up drug users.

Almost daily I am appalled by Iemmas latest little new law headline grabber, or things like Rudds diversionary binge drinking bull.

If a law doesn't reflect societies habits and mores it is authoritarian. Moral taboos re prostitution came about for lots of reasons, and were not simply imposed by the Church and State- the spread of diseases, the harm done to families, the divulgence of secrets, the degradation of many who partake, slavery.

Steel, I am against all sorts of things, including, in many situations the force of the State