The Myth of Choice

By Kent Greenfield,

Book cover of The Myth of Choice: Personal Responsibility in a World of Limits

Book description

Americans are fixated on the idea of choice. Our political theory is based on the consent of the governed. Our legal system is built upon the argument that people freely make choices and bear responsibility for them. And what slogan could better express the heart of our consumer culture than…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Myth of Choice as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I was impressed by author Kent Greenfield’s courage in questioning the near-sacred notion that all of our choices are free. Greenfield is not an enemy of choice, freedom, or liberty, but he understands how popular culture has reduced these complex concepts into not much more than advertising slogans.

A law professor at Boston University, the author uses relatable real-life examples, many of them personal, to illustrate how things that we think of as free choices are not as free as we would like to believe. Greenfield is not a pessimist, and I appreciate his suggestions for thinking more carefully about…

Want books like The Myth of Choice?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Myth of Choice.

Browse books like The Myth of Choice

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in free will, political philosophy, and sociology?

Free Will 58 books
Sociology 149 books