ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors show that people generally favor disclosures that, in their view, bear on health, safety, or the environment. They suggest that many Americans are skeptical of certain mandates, even if they have legitimate ends. The authors describe most Americans are supportive of nudges of the kind that democratic societies have adopted. They suggest that support diminishes when people distrust the motivations of the choice architects, or when they fear that because of inertia and inattention, citizens might end up with outcomes that are inconsistent with their values or their interests. Two principles seem to dominate the cases. First, Americans reject nudges that they take to have illegitimate goals. Second, Americans oppose nudges that they perceive as inconsistent with the interests or values of most choosers. At least in the United States, nudges that favor a particular religion or political party will meet with widespread disapproval, even among people of that very religion or party.
