Both democracy and liberal economics rely on free choice. Yet we are all influenced by cultural norms, advertising and vested interests. Might our freedom be an illusion, and if so how can we respond? Or are our current choices sufficient to make us freer than we have ever been?

Julian Le Grand is an academic specializing in public policy. He is a professor of social policy at the LSE and was a senior policy advisor to Tony Blair. He is the author of a number of books, including The Other Invisible Hand.

Here Le Grand speaks to the IAI about choice, freedom, and the role of the government in individual decision-making.

What did you feel was the concept of freedom during your debate?

The context in which we discussed it was in terms of the welfare state, and people having choices in schools or hospitals. I think there was a general feeling that people ought to have those sorts of choices. Of course, we’re all aware that choice and the freedom that goes with it are not always easy to exercise responsibly. You have to be well informed, you have to know what you’re doing, and in both health and education that’s somewhat of a problem.

I think too, that we have to recognise that too much choice can be a problem. There are psychological experiments that show that if people have a lot of choice, they’re often unhappier once they’ve made the choice and wish they’d chosen otherwise. For example, there’s an interesting psychological experiment in America where people were offered 6 marmalades or 28 marmalades. Firstly, they found it much easier to choose in the 6 marmalade instance, but also they regretted their choice less. Those choosing from 28 always came back and regretted their choice and were dissatisfied.

However, I think in general people should have a limited amount of choice. Particularly in otherwise fairly authoritarian or paternalistic areas, like healthcare and education, choice is a good thing.

You have talked about individuals having ‘Reasoning Failure’. Could you elaborate?