The Paradox of Choice. Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz (2004)

, 4 Oct 2014

The premise of the book is fascinating - Having lots of choice and many options is not only bad, but it does not make people happier or their life easier. Too much choice becomes a burden in every aspect of our life, from choosing an item from a Restaurant menu, to selecting your health insurance, a pair of jeans, or the school for your kids, just  to mention a few things. Too much choice creates stress and dissatisfaction. 

Not only that. Schwartz explains with great simplicity why certain people are always happy with their choices and others are never so. This fact relates to two personality types: the maximiser (who thinks: "I want the best in life and I have to search and select it") and the good-enough-izer (who thinks: "I need this and I get something that is good enough for my needs"). Maximisers will be always stressed about selecting something, it will take them ages to select something, and when they select it, they will not be happy because anything better will come up, which will make them feel imperfect and anxious again. On the contrary, the other type people want to attend to their needs in a quick personalised way, even if something is not the best possible option. The roots of happiness, therefore, are not based on choice and money, but on knowing what you want and getting it.

Fascinating eh? Yes, totally. However, you don't need to buy the book. I have already explained to you the core of what the book says in two paragraphs. There is not more to it. Schwartz has taken an idea that was first proposed and discussed by the famous Spanish Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, and make it accessible to the masses, and meaningful to our post-modern society. Schwartz certainly succeeds at making the subject approachable to the masses by explaining, in a very simple way, when and how we choose, and how we approach choice from a vital and emotional point of view. However, writing page after page repeating himself at nauseam, and giving example after example after example... is, how to put it?, too much choice of examples... Ha! 

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