This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here .
Is Barry Schwartz’s book The Paradox of Choice worth reading? How was the book received when it came out? Did it make an impact?
In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz contends that the vast array of choices presented to us leaves us stressed and indecisive. To lift this burden, Schwartz, a professor of social theory and social action, recommends we learn how to better navigate our choices, from groceries to health insurance.
Here is our The Paradox of Choice book review.
About the Book
The Paradox of Choice, by psychology and economics researcher Barry Schwartz, argues that unrestrained choice in market democracies creates problems. Since the book’s publication in 2004, it’s generated ongoing debate.
Schwartz acknowledges that the freedom to choose is essential to our autonomy. However, he contends that the vast array of choices we have in contemporary Western societies leaves us stressed and indecisive. To lift this burden, Schwartz recommends we learn how to better navigate the choices we’re presented with, from groceries to health insurance.
About the Author
Schwartz is a professor of social theory and social action at Swarthmore College. His work combines psychology and economics and focuses on the problem of choice.
In addition to The Paradox of Choice, he has published seven other books and numerous articles for journals, magazines, and newspapers. Popular books by Schwartz include Why We Work, based on his TED Talk of the same name, which analyzes our motivations for working; and Practical Wisdom (co-written with Kenneth Sharpe), which describes the benefits of using what we’ve learned from personal experience, and applying it with intelligence and compassion.
Connect with Barry Schwartz:
The Book’s Publication
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Since the publication of The Paradox of Choice in 2004, Schwartz has continued to publish articles related to the proliferation of choice in market democracies, particularly the U.S., and how that can cause us unnecessary stress. HarperCollins e-books published a revised Kindle edition in 2009.
Historical Context
The expansion of choice in market democracies is an effect of the rise of consumerist capitalism, particularly in the United States. During the 20th century, the industrialized economy grew in fits and starts, hampered by significant national and global events (particularly World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II). However, following World War II, the organizations driving the economy placed their bets on the idea of consumerism.
At this point, the United States’ economy had grown large but needed to inspire consumer demand for the products it was generating at an accelerating rate. Companies used advertising and marketing to spark new needs and wants, thereby increasing consumer demand to match supply. Commodities came to be seen as status symbols: The middle class could now purchase “luxury” products, and these new goods communicated that their social station was on the rise. The United States’ economy, and those of comparable market democracies, continues to rely on consumerism. However, one result of a consumerist culture is that choices consistently expand. Since the economy relies on people constantly finding new things they want to buy, companies are incentivized to regularly create new options. As Schwartz argues, the expansion of choice now overwhelms our decision-making abilities and creates stress.
Intellectual Context
Much of The Paradox of Choice incorporates concepts from psychologists, economists, and social scientists. The ideas of psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky are particularly prominent throughout the book.
Kahneman is a Nobel Prize-winning economist and psychologist, whose work on decision-making and judgment significantly influenced Schwartz. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman argues that our brains operate with two thinking systems: System 1, which runs on instinct, and System 2, which uses rational, deliberate thought.
———End of Preview———
Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Barry Schwartz's "The Paradox of Choice" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full The Paradox of Choice summary :
- Why the more choices we have, the more stressed and indecisive we feel
- How to better navigate our choices, from groceries to health insurance
- Whether it's better to seek the best or accept "good enough"
