PATERNALISM: A fundamental philosophical viewpoint that the private sector (households and businesses) needs to be watched over--like a parent--by the public sector (government). In other words, members of society need to be watched over, cared for, and kept out of trouble, like parents watch over, care for, and keep their children out of trouble. This philosophy of paternalism should be contrasted directly with the philosophy of laissez faire, which essentially says "Hey, we're all grown ups here, we can make our own decisions."

     See also | government | public sector | business | private sector | laissez faire | liberal | conservative | first estate | second estate | third estate | regulation | social regulation | market failures | externalities | market control | demand-management policies | stabilization policies | unemployment | business cycles |

PATERNALISM, AmosWEB GLOSS*arama, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2021. [Accessed: December 3, 2021].

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Goods characterized by rival consumption and the ability to exclude nonpayers. Private goods are one of four types of goods differentiated by consumption rivalry and nonpayer excludability. The other three goods are public (nonrival consumption and nonpayers cannot be excluded), common-property (rival consumption and nonpayers cannot be excluded), and near-public (nonrival consumption and nonpayers can be excluded). Rival consumption and the ease of excluding of nonpayers means private goods can be efficiently exchanged through markets.

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