Nudges and Autonomy

We spoke earlier in the semester about Thaler and Sunstein's notion of "libertarian paternalism," whereby subtle structural details are manipulated to help people make choices that we think are better for them (my favorite example is an "opt-out" rather than an "opt-in" employee savings plan, which automatically signs you up unless you say otherwise. This produces higher rates of personal retirement savings, which most people say they want, without actually eliminating any options). This idea has many educational applications, and also raises some concerns. Here is a critical discussion by philosopher Jeremy Waldron of Sunstein's latest work:  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/oct/09/cass-sunstein-its-all-your-own-good/
I'm interested in this kind of thinking because it might give some concrete content to Plato's and Rousseau's notions of civic education, and the way legislative power, at its best, might subtly educate rather than threaten or punish. I'm also interested in the limits of nudging strategies for addressing structural problems.