Book & podcast collection

The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life

Historian Sophia Rosenfeld traces the rise of choice as a defining ideal of modern freedom. She examines how selecting among religions, spouses, occupations, consumer goods, political representatives, and personal identities came to signify autonomy—and how institutions increasingly organized life around that expectation. The book shows that expanded choice brought genuine liberation while also creating anxiety, inequality, and new forms of pressure. By connecting political thought with markets and everyday experience, Rosenfeld asks when choice empowers people, when it merely disguises constraint, and whether freedom requires more than an ever-growing menu of options.

Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 2025
Format: Print edition
Pages: 480
ISBN: 9780691164717

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History Freedom Consumer Culture

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Interview with the Author

4 available interview links

1. The Economic and Political History Podcast — Is More Choice Really Freedom? | Sophia Rosenfeld with Javier MejiaChecked

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2. The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg — Freedom Hasn’t Always Meant Choice | Interview: Sophia RosenfeldChecked

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3. In Theory: The JHI Blog Podcast — The Age of Choice: Disha Karnad Jani Interviews Sophia RosenfeldChecked

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4. The Social Contract Research Podcast — Thinking About the Age of Choice, with Sophia RosenfeldChecked

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