ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the possibility that different nations, and different groups within the same nation, offer different answers, suggests an absence of consensus. In many nations, public officials have been drawn to nudges. Widespread public approval can operate as a license or a permission slip, or perhaps as a spur or a prod. Public officials should be humble and attentive to the views of others, and if strong majorities favor or oppose nudges, their views are entitled to consideration. If that commitment matters, officials should pay attention to what people think, even if they disagree. Reflection, deliberation, expertise, and information greatly matter. But public reactions deserve attention. Perhaps people pay too little attention to social welfare, or perhaps their judgments about social welfare are off the mark, at least if they are not provided with a great deal of information.
