The project deals with paternalistic politics, which on the one hand can promote equality in society, but on the other hand can also be discriminatory.

The project will run for 3 years from December 2025. It also includes a postdoc position.

Project description:

Acts and policies that interfere with people, without their consent, and to promote their interests or wellbeing are paternalistic. Examples include smoking policies or the policy of earmarked paternity leave. While paternalism has the potential to significantly benefit people, it is also criticized, for example, for disrespecting people’s autonomy. An important but under-examined aspect of paternalistic policies is that they often target disadvantaged groups or affect groups differently. While such efforts potentially promote equality, including labour market and health equality, they at the same time raise concerns about discrimination. The project illuminates the challenges of combatting inequalities between different groups in society while catering to the morally significant concerns of avoiding wrongful paternalism and discrimination. By combining analytical political philosophy and experimental empirical methods, the project investigates how the moral wrongness of policies that are both paternalistic and discriminatory can potentially be mitigated.

Further info

• Read press release from Independent Research Fund Denmark
• More about Viki Lyngby Hvid and her research