Free markets promise efficiency, but the hidden cost is our time and energy. Forced to navigate everything from utilities to pensions, we carry a heavy cognitive load. Sometimes, simplicity is worth more than endless competition. Life shouldn’t be a full-time job.
Do we want the freedom to choose, or the freedom from choosing?
Do you think we’ve reached a "tipping point" where the sheer number of daily choices is actually making us less free?
This has nothing to do with free markets. It's about revealed preferences.
If people really do want fewer choices (as in, enough to pay for it), then services that curate and bundle options will prevail. There are certainly instances of this currently.
Compared to a central planner, markets have no problem providing this in a way that people want. In fact, they're much better suited to it.