This book has attempted to unpick the taken for granted character of choice in our society, to explore what it is and identify where it came from. There is no question of our going back to the traditional form of society in which choices were much more limited and structured. Our society has been characterised, especially with the impact of industrialisation over the past two centuries, by a very rapid rate of change in almost all areas of life; changes which have introduced new choices and continue to do so. Yet, as we saw in Part One, choice is Janus faced. Its introduction allows people more control of their lives, at least in a nominal sense. Whether it gives real control depends upon whether they have understood the options facing them, and whether those options are being managed by others to appear in particular ways. At the same time, too many choices overwhelm and oppress us. Everyone has their comfort level and most of us have learned to raise this to take advantage of what is available. In terms of the balance between choice as empowering and overwhelming there is hence an optimum for each individual and collectively for each society. This, I suggest, is something that a society such as ours would do well to reflect upon, rather than blindly accepting that choice and more choice is always for the better. Rather than a necessary benefit, choice at some level is a limitation, and a society that aims to progress and improve itself should know its limitations. Chapters Four and Five illustrated a variety of circumstances in which choice does not work well as an institutional mechanism, and identified provision as an at times more effective one.

Choice is also individualising, particularly in our market-based society and economy. Of course choices can be collective, but the overwhelming majority of those we make are effectively individual. More to the point, we see ourselves and are seen by others as responsible for our choices. In many respects they are the basis of how we advance and achieve, or how we fail to do so. This increases the pressure on us. If we succeed, we feel bullish – the achievement is ours as individuals; if we do not, the failure is also down to us.