What is the big idea of Richard Thaler, the economist quoted by David Cameron and Barack Obama? It comes down to this: you’re not as smart as you think. Humans, he believes, are less rational and more influenced by peer pressure and suggestion than governments and economists reckon.

“Economists assume people have brains like supercomputers that can solve anything,” says Thaler. “But human minds are more like really old Apple Macs with slow processing speeds and prone to frequent crashes.”

According to this view, voters are less Mr Spock than Homer Simpson and they could do with a bit of help – what Thaler terms a “nudge” – to save more, eat more healthily and do all the other things that they know they should.

Così sul Guardian Richard Thaler, consigliere di Obama in US e Cameron in UK, spiega come a volte occorra una “spintarella” per innescare un circuito virtuoso. Un metodo che si applica a una serie di problemi sociali, dalla raccolta dei rifiuti alla criminalità minorile.