TY - JOUR T1 - Sticking up for Nanny JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 449 LP - 449 DO - 10.3399/bjgp19X705329 VL - 69 IS - 686 AU - Stephen H Bradley Y1 - 2019/09/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/69/686/449.abstract N2 - Witnessing the misery wrought by obesity, smoking, and alcohol, I suspect most GPs dismiss talk of a ‘nanny state’ as tabloid codswallop. But, in his excellent little polemic Killjoys: A Critique Of Paternalism,1 Christopher Snowdon has set out a surprisingly persuasive case that ought to be at least understood. Snowdon invokes John Stuart Mill’s injunction that liberty must only be curtailed when it threatens the wellbeing of others. In order to uphold liberty, Snowdon argues, government policy should not be directed to satisfy seemingly worthy aspirations like prolonging lifespan, since no government can ever understand the goals and values of individuals. The assumption that government knows best undermines freedom and risks all manner of other interventions and restrictions. A free-market economy is the best mechanism to allow individuals … ER -