[xorbie]

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Because people who aren't micromanaging busybodies respect other people's autonomy. If someone asks you for help, great.

If not, MYOFB.

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The first problem with this is that it certainly doesn't (and shouldn't) hold at all social levels. What you said is true of some random guy in the street that I come across (under most circumstances).

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So at what "social levels" does this hold?

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Your friends? Family? Neighbor? Guy at work? I don't know where you would personally draw the line, but I'd say I'm clearly right here.

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The second problem is actually that people are not time consistent. It's actually an interesting thought experiment to see what you'd have to say about someone who says something along the lines of "tomorrow do X to me" but the next day tells you not to. I know this seems overly pedantic but I think it's an important case that certainly has pragmatic applications.

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Yes, people change their mind. So what?

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So, what do you do? Respect their current wishes or respect their previous wishes? How can you determine what "pvn's" preference is if "pvn" changes from day to day, but the preference is over something that has long lasting effects? I think it's a very important question that simply saying something along the lines of "actions reveal preferences" doesn't quite address.

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So if it weren't for that pesky fact, you'd be all for directly controlling every aspect of other people's lives in the name of utility maximization?

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Your asking me if it would be a problem to take away people's freedom in the hypothetical situation in which people did not value their freedom?

Yeah, I'd say it's ok.

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So from there, it's pretty easy to tell yourself "well, they'll enjoy the results of my bossing them around a lot more than the tiny little bit of freedom I'm taking away from them."

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If it is the case that people actually achieve the highest possible utility when they are being bossed around, who are you to tell them it's wrong? We may be crossing into different grounds here, but I think it's an interesting trail.