  These are important concerns. Before discussing them more fully, we need to clarify their character. The noncoercive perfectionist measures in question are paternalistic in the sense that they are intended to help citizens lead better lives. Not every kind of noncoercive state perfectionism is paternalistic, however. Recall nonhumanistic versions of perfectionism. Those who accept these views might favor state support for excellence in science and art not because doing so will enable citizens to lead better lives, but because the state ought to promote excellence. This defense of noncoercive state paternalism does not presume that some citizens are not good at making independent moral decisions about how to lead their lives. The manipulation objection to noncoercive state perfectionism, accordingly, must target a subset of these measures.