Leave it to a legal scholar to ask: Is a stigma a tax? If so, can government act legitimately to remove that stigma?

To legal scholar Cass Sunstein, the answer is yes. Certain social norms, Sunstein explains, such as wearing a seatbelt in Hungary or carrying a gun in Sunstein’s neighborhood, act as taxes on particular behaviors. Norms that encourage certain behaviors are, analogously, subsidies.

Sunstein faces an uphill battle making this case against the backdrop of a liberal tradition of individual choice and respect for personal preferences. But he may find allies in conservatives and liberals alike.

This lecture was originally delivered at AEI in November 1996.

Listen to the full lecture here. 

You can’t say that! Censorship in public discourse (feat. Sam Abrams)