Misanthropic uses of the nudge

And the inadequacy of any libertarian response

Machine gambling terminals, designed to create addiction, represent the tip of a larger iceberg: the dark arts of “behavior design,” which are sometimes turned to purposes that can only be called misanthropic. If that sounds alarmist or hyperbolic, read on. This essay, adapted from my book The World Beyond Your Head, is pretty dark. It is also quite lon…