Choice Is Good

In recent weeks, I've read a couple of things questioning the value of have lots of choices to make. The latest is a review of a book called The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More. Based on the review, it appears that the author falls into the category of those who believe that too much choice is a bad thing because it increases the chances of making bad decisions which then make people unhappy.

I don't doubt that people make choices that in the end leave them miserable all the time. We all make bad decisions - confronted with an overwhelming number of choices at Blockbuster this weekend, I rented a bad movie. But does that invalidate the choices we had in the first place? At the extreme end of the kind of thinking indicated in the review lies some type of governmental regulation on the choices people make. That would run counter to the principles of freedom and personal responsibility that have underpinned Western society since the Enlightenment.

A better plan would be to improve decision making skills among the public. Real decision making, not just following trends and styles, requires a mix of traits that should be encouraged in schools - analytical skills, the strength to be different, etc. - but are largely overlooked in the pursuit of docile kids who do well on standardized tests. The process may be messier, but in the end we might produce people who are capable of making happy choices in their lives.