By Ilya Somin August 22
As economist David Henderson points out, even many free market advocates believe that government-mandated warnings are a largely harmless way to protect the public against various risks. Maybe we shouldn’t ban potentially dangerous activity X or product Y, but surely the government should warn the public against them, or require firms to do so. That way, they can make a better-informed decision about whether the benefits of X and Y are worth the risk. Unlike outright bans, this form of “soft paternalism” doesn’t restrict the freedom of consumers. It doesn’t even significantly increase the costs of exercising it, as “sin taxes” do.

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