Industrialised nations have come to expect freedom of choice - in everything from family planning to breakfast cereal. In some ways, having options has come to represent a key gap - a determining feature between the lives of a mainland farmer's daughter and her Hong Kong business-district equivalent, for example. But while some choices deeply affect a person's quality of life, most do not - not even for those in affluent populations who are socio-economically elevated enough to enjoy their full potential.
Historically, most people have had few choices in life, and this is still the case. They are born into a particular setting, say, as a Hindu or Muslim; a member of a class or caste, family or ethnic group. Life is defined by chance, by roles and marked out by participation in collective events and tasks.
Even for the rich, according to the philosophers, 'choicefulness' is largely an illusion. All the most significant influences that shape who we are and what our future 'choices' are likely to be, come about by sheer hazard, such as our genetic inheritance, home and mother tongue.
It is mostly the uncontrollable flow of events that shapes life, asserts John Gray, author of Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals. And because this stream has become increasingly unstable, people are driven harder to create the illusion of freedom of choice.
But America, the economic and cultural giant of our day, champions choice (particularly consumer choice) to such a degree that it has come to be identified with freedom itself. Choice has become central to America's individualistic way of life, implying power, autonomy and dignity.
It is undeniable that exercising choice has a liberating kick to it and helps people define themselves. But it is also isolating, especially for choices like a marriage partner, career, education for one's children or elected officials.
Individualist tradition teases these choices apart from the society in which they are set, separating people from their network of relationships and reducing social connectedness.