Why individual Choice is a Myth

Americans place a lot of value on “ Individual Choice” which is a pretty dumb concept as there is nothing like Individual Choice.Every choice is a social choice that is made by an Individual and the whole Individual Choice theory is both flawed and in some cases dangerous.

Let us look at an illustration of Individual Choice to understand what I mean.

A lot of people today think not having kids is an Individual Choice.On the surface though it comes off as an intellectual choice made by a thinking individual, the reality is that it is just a choice made a by rebel that felt constrained by the norms of the social paradigms in existence who then propagates as same as his or her Individual choice.

Now let us look at why this Individual choice is not as isolated or as benign as it appears to be and every choice we make affects society at large.If I chose to walk into a store without a mask when afflicted with coronavirus, I could may end up infecting a few store employees and the effect and consequences is immediate but with some of the “Individual Choices” the consequences are not immediate but take a few decades to show up.

When lots of people start to make the choice of not wanting to have kids, the choice then becomes a social lifestyle.This then leads us to a place where we end up in an aging society where there are too many aging people and less working population.

Japan is a classic example.Japan is currently reeling under an aged population given years of low birth rates that is affecting the country at large.

My point is Individual Choice is an extremely overrated myth that is propagated by America in the guise of feeling empowered leading people to believe their decisions are dictated by their intellect alone and this fallacy is leading lot of people to make choices that are neither beneficial to them in the long run or society at large.