This book is a serious look at a
serious subject but done with a lightness of touch that makes it an easy read.
The author, who is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social
Action at Swarthmore College, looks at one particular aspect of our
contemporary consumer society — the issue of choice. In a way, this book
follows on from his 1994 The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the
Best Things in Life. In the earlier book the author argues that the
unfettered free market should not be allowed into every aspect of our lives —
some areas are better organised in a different way. In this latest book, he
homes in on one particular aspect of the market — freedom of choice. In one
sense, this is one of a clutch of books that have appeared recently all looking
at the odd fact that our enormous free market does not seem to have made people
any happier than they were thirty, forty or fifty years ago. However, this book
is special for two reasons. Firstly, it draws upon contemporary philosophical
and psychological insights — especially those of, for example, Amartya Sen and
Martin Seligman. Secondly, its narrow range of subject matter — freedom of
choice — means that the author can develop some profound insights.

The earlier chapters deal with how
much choice we have and we are taken on a hilarious trek through a supermarket
where the enormity of the range of choices is really brought home. The range of
choices, however, goes far beyond consumer goods to a large range of services
and some of these are looked at in detail. The author then goes on to look at
some of the psychological quirks we tend to suffer from when faced with choices
— how the way in which a choice is framed tends to influence our choice,
prospect theory, loss aversion, etc. Then there comes a very enlightening
chapter on the two types of chooser — the maximizer and the satisficer. The
former has to have the best, the absolute best. The latter is content with the item
that meets her/his criteria of quality and price. Some people are maximizers in
some areas of life and satisficers in others. The author, building on the much
earlier work of Herbert Simon, shows that satisficers are both more reasonable
in their approach and a great deal happier with their choices.

Other chapters in the book deal
with opportunity costs, the psychology of trade-offs, reversible decisions,
regret, upward and downward comparison, adaptation, the hedonic treadmill, high
expectations, social comparison, status, and positional competition. A whole
chapter is dedicated to disappointment and depression. The author points out
that one of the major factors in our happiness is control. He argues that an
over heightened individualism plus a tendency towards being a maximizer rather
than a satisficer is a recipe for unhappiness and perhaps depression. Finally,
the author gives a list of tips for a happier lifestyle: choose when to choose;
be a chooser, not a picker; satisfice more and maximise less; think about the
opportunity costs of opportunity costs; make your decisions nonreversible;
practice an ‘attitude of gratitude’; regret less; anticipate adaptation;
control expectations; curtail social comparison; and learn to love constraints.

This is a book that crosses
boundaries and will be of interest to the psychologist, the sociologist, the
social anthropologist as well as to the general reader. The endnotes are of
excellent quality and contain all the necessary bibliographical information and
there is a very good index as well as suggestions for further reading. The book
has been well proofread and is an absolute pleasure to read.

© 2006 Kevin M. Purday

Kevin Purday
works at The Modern English School, Cairo, Egypt, and has a Master’s degree in
the Philosophy & Ethics of Mental Health from the Philosophy Dept. at the
University of Warwick.

Categories: General