TY - JOUR
T1 - Mandated Choice Policies
T2 - When Are They Preferable?
AU - Thaysen, Jens Damgaard
AU - Brøgger Albertsen, Andreas
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Under mandated choice policies, people are free to choose whichever option they prefer, but “choosing not to choose” is penalized. In Australia, voting is mandatory, and abstaining is penalized with a fine. In New Zealand and several American states, it is mandatory for those who want to obtain a driver’s license that they decide whether to register as organ donors. If they fail to do so, they will not receive a driver’s license. Proponents of such policies stress that they may be the least autonomy-infringing ways of achieving some good and provide society with knowledge about people’s preferences and are, partly for these reasons, preferable to employing defaults. This article compares mandated choice in voting and donor registration with respect to the ends served, how a mandated choice policy will serve these ends, the distribution of burdens, and the nature of the possible options. It is argued that mandated choice is more attractive in the context of donor registration.
AB - Under mandated choice policies, people are free to choose whichever option they prefer, but “choosing not to choose” is penalized. In Australia, voting is mandatory, and abstaining is penalized with a fine. In New Zealand and several American states, it is mandatory for those who want to obtain a driver’s license that they decide whether to register as organ donors. If they fail to do so, they will not receive a driver’s license. Proponents of such policies stress that they may be the least autonomy-infringing ways of achieving some good and provide society with knowledge about people’s preferences and are, partly for these reasons, preferable to employing defaults. This article compares mandated choice in voting and donor registration with respect to the ends served, how a mandated choice policy will serve these ends, the distribution of burdens, and the nature of the possible options. It is argued that mandated choice is more attractive in the context of donor registration.
KW - mandated choice
KW - organ donation
KW - compulsory voting
KW - mandatory choice
KW - voting ethics
KW - active choice
U2 - 10.1177/1065912920936361
DO - 10.1177/1065912920936361
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1065-9129
VL - 74
JO - Political Research Quarterly
JF - Political Research Quarterly
IS - 3
ER -