The Chosen. – Just why do we demand more choice?
What is choice? As a concept I must confess I fail to really understand it. I mean what is a choice? Are we flirting with some meta-idea of the freedom of our soul to Make This Descion – as a reasonable and reasoned adult. I we really pretending that all choices are the same – that Is there is a thing called choice – that is as true for a life and death descion – for example should I kill my self or not – as it is for buying a back of biscuits? Iof course not. Or at least of course not – if by that of course one means that the if one means the entire process of making these two descions are only related thjrough the name alone – and bear more more real resemblance to each other that the dog star does from the barking animal (the old jokes are always the best). But if by choice one means merely the phenomena of having a pause- a gap – a moment where things are not yet given – where things are suspend – however that suspended is then resolved-0 and whatver the [process that leads up to it – then the situation is a little different. In that there is a momemnt of indescion a momewment before one follows one path – a way that unite the buying of biscuits and the taking of ones own life- one can say that there is something called choice. And yet of course that choice- that hangining is descions – that wondering is of course utterly different in kind in both cases. If you like- I guess one could say that although there is not any unity to the concept of choice if by that one means the ay one ways up active descions – the same cannot then be said for the facvt that descions are made- for the agony – o rh ee ctasy of being pending of travelling in exzpectation.
Now of course this leads to a second point., tone of the great shifts in the world tht founded our modern society mus surely be the fact that choice has – for us become ‘good’ – or perhaps (more accurately) it has become as it were the dominat narcotic we take – the addicitive drug which we can so easily be caught up in and with. I mean I guess one of the big divide between us and the past is our attitude to choice. Chioce in the seventeenth century was not seen as good – in itself- or even as good at all. The point of the dpoctrine of predestination was that one had no choice. One was what one was – and one must live in it and as it. One was then caught up within a hierarchy of living cretue – with ones social role and believes already mapped out – and one should not dain to question that role. Of course it was never quite that simnple – their certainly were matserless men who did seek to question their position and all their believes- (and cam to the fore in the wonderful sects of the civil war periods) and yet such individuals were actively marginalised by the rest of society – and seen of abnormalis and acceptions – to be worried at and treated with suspicion, Likewise people who choe a different way of beinf were suspected of Heresy and witch craft – and tragic consequences. The entire point of the society was to manufacture then a world without chpoice- and o ensure that all individuals cose as they were ment to.
Anow I am making no value judegements here about the relative quality of this very differing approach – or ven of whther in fact the majority of the poor really did buy the lack of chipoce offered thm – and really were content in their lot. All that matters in the current arugement was that choice was somehow illicit and and approved of. To choose was to be odd – and to be a rebel – and was actively supessed.
And now? Well superificially of course choice is king., But before I carry one- that us carefully limit that freedom. Chioce muight be king- buit only if one chooses certain things, Choose to actively be poo –or to try to actively subvert the system – then it is possible that oines choices are immedietaely cutailed. One has freedom to choose- as long as one chooses the right way. And yet here it is not a matter of choosing the right thing – so much as having constantly to choose. I eman that we are clamoured t to be choosing actively all the time – we are lauded it we act os consumer – ednelss choosing endless making informed (or otherwise) descion about anything and everything.
The effect of course of this move- is that choice will itself be instilled as something. Andyet as I asked just now what is that something? It is not so much a lpostive state- as a neghative being pending. That we are lauding then is not so mnuch action as inaction – nd suspention. The clamour for choice (if such clamour their really be amngost the population – which I actually doubt0 – is then a clamour not to act – to be in a station waiting to act – waithing to descide.
Now here one needs to be cautious about the natre of this waiting. There are clearly two quite different reasons why choice can so easily be made to be important to us – that is why we can be sold the ‘cioce is good’ l;ine- and carry on agreeing with that line insipte of the many problems choice no doubt spawmns, Firstly choice is effectively a way ofmanaging anger within the society. A society with choice is stronger in that every individual when shafted by one facet of society does not need to blame the entire society – but only the company that shafted one – and what is more one can them and immediately act against that company by choosing a different product. Chioce it therefore effectively as very efficient way of ensuring that a society- with all its petty squabbles and inconveniences can hold togther inspote of or even because of these inconvieneces. An one part- of society may well pisas us off- but there are always more paths to choose- more aveneues to follow – more possible bright hopes to be. Effectively then chioce keeps us caught up within the organisation- the society yhat creates choice and means us in are very querolus irrationality end up supporting our society. No wonder then free societies are so strong.
This ability to contain petty squabbles is of course justified in the myth that choice makes companies better. Of course the problem with thi phrase lies precisely in the imprescions of making better. What does it actually mean that be made better? Does it mean they perform the tasks better- well maybe or at least sometimes, or at least possibliy – theorectically (you might detect utter skeptism here). But what is always made better in the making of choices open is the ability of companies to mange and conctain the anger their own ineffiecncies produce. I mean they become better at selling themselves – and better at captialising on other fualures- bettr that it of taking up our irrations and vexation- and through their ministrations m,aking it all right. Whther in any objective sense this ever makes them ‘better’, whatever tht being better might involve - simply do not know.
Secondly however there is another aspect to choice, Put simply choice is clearly as addicitive as herion or smoking is. I mean there is a pleasure in chooing in that feeling of pending and pof possibility that runs very deep in us. We seem to crave it – and seek it pout. We wish to choose- and choose anything- and everything – that is we wish to be prending- to hold ourselves in reserve. We then express the pleasure of being pending as the the pleasure in our power of acting (whatever that might mean). That is we mythologieis that moment of pending as somehow the moement we act. Of course it is no such thing. The are utterly unawre of the complex decions and micro-desacions going on at this moement (and are so even if those decisions are in any sense under our contrl – they are clearly not under our conscious control). The effect of course is that we effecxtively sacrifice ou ;lives to a myth of self power. The choose choice- we coose not be act to wait to pend. Or rather he choose to break open each complex action into a myriad of different choices – of different way o pend – in each of which we linger awahile before movng on tho the next waiting. This effextively of course means we never can accomplish anything more that coosing., He choose choioce- we cooose to do We as individuals of course can very little from this process – save the pleasure the additicitve dru – of being pending of awaiting. Spocety as a whole however of course ha much to gain in this game. While we are endlessly labour to do what we have always done – and enjoying the process – we are utterly harmless – and moribund. We simpoly cannot find the time to choose to really question – to really worrying about the drastic inequalities and wuckedness upon which the entire system of choice is based. Chioce has thereby become every – and we ar lend in the agreeable and yet absolute grip of pending of doing nothing – and are made so very safe.
In short perhaps we might consider the costs of choice – and choosing – not only to the environement – wihc is clearly being destroyed by our blind rapacity for choice – by our addiction – ad we are neutralising ourselves as actors. Perhap thenm although it is heresy, the new frr thinkers – the new ranters – must learn to choopse- or at least to ensure that they only do coose when choice actually matters – when it is trasnformong the world – and nt, as it is not merely to choose to take choice itself.