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Reminders that our lives are filled with choices lead people to feel less disturbed about inequality, and less likely to support remedies.
I'm skeptical. I would think that not all choices are equal, and that some types of choices could make a person more sensitive to income equality. I doubt that the generally progressive politics of college faculty are related to a lack of choices.
It's my feeling that this study is directed at an illusion of choice that makes the American public apt to defend disparity in the US. However, I think the truth might be more related to the types of choices we are presented, and just as important, those we are not.
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Yes. Remember those articles from a few years back talking about all those choices which overwhelm us in the market? I don't think they were talking about real choices at all, just trivial selections which irritate us because they're so meaningless. Which color? Which style? Which marketing adjective? Which brand?
But those selections only apply to whatever product is most profitable for suppliers at the moment. We aren't allowed significant choices. As Chomsky put it: Not to mention that the range of things we can make a selection on is severely limited by our income.If I want to get home from work, the market offers me a choice between a Ford and a Toyota, but not between a car and a subway.