One Day University

One of the core beliefs in modern western societies is that having more choices makes us happier, but Professor Schwartz argues that just the opposite is true. He explains how being confronted with so many choices in everything from health care plans to shampoo is in fact a recipe for dissatisfaction. Why? The pressure to make the perfect choice from a dizzying array of options is overwhelming. When we finally do choose something, it’s easy to imagine the fabulous benefits of all the options we didn’t choose. We then blame ourselves for not making a better decision. Schwartz also argues that the pressure to make the perfect decision on trivial matters often leads people to postpone far more important choices, like whom to marry and what career path to choose. He concludes by revealing several antidotes to all this madness and exploring the public policy implications of too many choices. Specifically, he asks whether the world might be a happier place for everyone if wealthier nations with too many options, in effect, transferred a portion to poorer nations with too few.