Opaque Lucidity

The Choice-Conscious Consumer

Dennis Pragar had a guest on last week touting his book on our culture of choice (unfortunately, I was not in a position to write down his name or the name of the book). The author's premise is this: while some choice in society is good, too much choice has unintended consequences. He focused on increased unhappiness as a result of too many choices. For example, imagine you have $25,000 to spend on a new car. You have dozens of choices in that price range, even if you narrow your decision to one type of vehicle. The author's assertion was that many people, even after the purchase, are unhappy with their vehicle because there were so many other possibilities which might have brought greater satisfaction. In some circles, this is considered a type of "buyer's remorse."

I guess I've been blessed in that most of my buying choices in life have been limited by my wallet. I've never spent more than $15,000 for a car, a very pedestrian sum that limits one's choices to about 10 decent models. But then, I've never seen a car as a measure of my manhood or a member of the family; they are as disposable as toasters.

I guess it is a true sign that we have gone from comfortable to decadent when a man can write a book about choice being a problem in society and it's taken seriously. I think most of the choices we have in consumer goods come from the marketing people who feel the need to constantly dazzle us with the newest and most improved whatever. In the end, I think the almightly dollar does more to dictate our choices than anything. If not, then how would Wal-Mart/Sam's Club have ever become what it is today? If pickles are $1.99 for a 30 gallon bucket, a lot of people are going to buy even if they have no earthly idea what to do with that much cucumber.

Sorry if I've rambled a bit; there was supposed to be a point in there somewhere.