The Costs of Living

Schwartz wrote one of my favorite books, The Paradox of Choice, which is why I picked up The Costs of Living. In TPoC, Schwartz explained why having too many choices as consumers can actually have negative consequences on our psyches. In TCoL, which was written in the early 90's, he talks about the same sort of stuff on a more ‘macro' level, explaining how unbridled capitalism makes almost everybody–including those who are profiting the most from it–unhappy. Or at least that's what I think he's going do to.

One interesting thing about reading this book within our current economic crisis, is that much of what he has to say about the economics of the US applies now even more than it did then. The early 90s sort of presaged what's happening now, I think, especially around how deregulation can lead to such intense economic downturns.