Paradox of Freedom

Ask nearly anyone and they'll tell you that more choices are better.

The more options you have, the more likely that the decision you make will match all of your preferences and be the optimal choice.

But that's not exactly true...

Imagine buying a car. If you're a consumer in, say 1912, there's really only one choice: the Model-T Ford.  So, the decision is easy.  You buy the car, and it's the best possible outcome.

Now imagine buying one today.  There are dozens of options.  After a few weeks of careful consideration and test driving, you find the perfect car: well priced, good gas mileage, looks nice, etc.

You buy it, you drive it off the lot, and get it home, and as you're admiring it in the driveway, you look over to your neighbors, the Joneses, and see that they have also bought a new car, and that Mr. Jones is likewise admiring his new car.

A brief conversation later, and you discover that not only did Mr. Jones buy a better car than you, but he got it for the same price.

As the buyer's remorse hits you, you realize that you did not make the best possible choice, but hey, no biggie, you still have a car that you like, right?  And it sure is better than if your only available choice was the Toyota Camry (unless the car you bought was the Toyota Camry, in which case it is better than if your only available choice was the Ford F-150).

But let's say you're buying a car in a possible future fifty years from now. In this fantastical future, there no longer are car brands or standard vehicles. Instead, every single option is customizable, from the seats to the color to the layout on the inside to the way the body looks, you have never been more free.

You spend three months designing your perfect car on your computer, clicking and dragging everything you could possibly, getting rid of all the unnecessary accoutrements, like seat belts or the windshield, and the morning after you finalize your design, your dream car is delivered to your driveway. NICE.

You get in, begin the drive to work, and as you spill your piping hot morning cup of joe all over your shirt, you reflect on the fact that you had forgotten to include cup holders in your design.

Now, at this point, practically any car with cup holders and that could still drive would have been better. Not only has having unlimited freedom result in you choosing a car you don't particularly like, but it has resulted in you choosing a car that's even worse than the car you would have chosen if you had fewer options.

And here's what worse: you wasted all that time designing that car. In economic terms, think of the cost of the car in both time and money.  Even if you had designed a car that was slightly better for you and slightly less expensive than a Camry, the Camry still would have been a better choice because it only took a week for you to choose the Camry and took months to design the other car.  The increased opportunity cost of designing your own car outweighs the slight benefit of having a slightly better car.  The irony is that having too much free choice can easily result in a less optimal situation.