Od architektury wyboru do władzy epistemicznej: klasyczny nudging w krajobrazie instytucjonalnych technik wpływu
From Choice Architecture to Epistemic Power: Classical Nudging in the Landscape of Institutional Techniques of Influence

Summary/Abstract: As behavioural tools become increasingly prevalent in public policy, choice architecture has emerged as a significant mechanism through which modern states influence citizens’ decisions. Classical nudging interventions, grounded in behavioural economics and libertarian paternalism, subtly modify decision-making contexts to steer behaviour without formally restricting individual freedom. Despite their operational effectiveness, such approaches have sparked significant concerns regarding their compatibility with democratic legitimacy and transparency. This article argues that classical nudging may function as a form of soft cognitive engineering, potentially eroding reflective agency and epistemic autonomy. Using a comparative framework, the article analyzes how choice architecture relates to other institutional mechanisms of state influence—such as legal regulation, fiscal incentives, public deliberation, and informational strategies. A typological method is employed, focusing on the transparency, reversibility, and epistemic relationship between intervention designers and recipients. The findings reveal that classical nudging is characterised by deep epistemic asymmetry and limited possibilities for contestation, aligning it more closely with technocratic or even authoritarian models of governance than with participatory democratic ideals. Rather than supporting civic deliberation, such interventions may reinforce structures of epistemic dominance. The article is concluded by outlining a conceptual alternative: deliberative choice architecture—an approach grounded in transparency, citizen co-creation of decision environments, and the enhancement of cognitive capacities.

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