Despair is Not Hopelessness: Autonomy and Behavioral Interventions for Deaths of Despair
Alejandro Hortal, Jack M C Kwong · 2026
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Description
Alejandro Hortal and Jack Kwong present a 2026 essay on deaths of despair and the ethics of public policy nudges. The phrase covers suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol linked deaths amid concern over rising rates. The authors draw a sharp line between despair and hopelessness, and between hope and hopefulness.
Hopelessness itself splits into a want based form and a belief based form, and each erodes free choice in its own way. The essay weighs choice twice: how hardship settings shrink it, and how policy nudges can shrink it further. From that base the authors build a test for when gentle behavior tools stay fair in the shadow of despair.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Alejandro Hortal, Jack M C Kwong |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 57 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |