University students, professors discuss ‘the ideology of choice’ with Renata Salecl

Renata Salecl, a senior researcher at the Criminology Institute of the University of Ljubljana discussed her book “The Tyranny of Choice” with a visiting professor from the London School of Economics in a lecture hosted by Birzeit University’s Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights on Monday, September 16, 2019.

In this lecture, held under the Windsor-Birzeit Dignity Initiative together with the A.M. Qattan Foundation, students and professors explored with Salecl notions that revolve around the illusion of choice and the consumerist mentality, conditions that affect all aspects of life in post-industrial capitalist societies.

In his opening remarks, Mudar Kassis, director of the Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, presented the speakers and the topic at hand, introducing Salecl as a Slovene philosopher, writer, and sociologist who has analyzed the overabundance of choice in post-industrial communities from a perspective that is grounded in philosophy, sociology, and psychoanalysis.

Salecl began the lecture by defining what she calls “the ideology of choice,” a nascent ideology that has gained roots since the 1970s and emerged as a by-product of the proliferation of neoliberalism. This ideology, she noted, became linked with consumerism and affected a change in how people view themselves, namely as makers of choice instead of bearers of rights. As an example, she presented the abortion debate in the United States, where the focus of the discussion has shifted from the rights of women to choice and economic abilities.

Due to the ideology of choice, Salecl stressed, people view themselves free to make choices but fail to realize that frequently, they lack the means to make these choices. The concept of freedom of choice, she added, exacerbates some of the psychological disorders that have become commonplace in post-industrial societies, such as anxiety, guilt, and thoughts of inadequacy.

The illusion of choice turns people’s attention inwards, Salecl emphasized, explaining that when faced with failure — per society’s standards — people usually blame themselves and their choices, instead of looking outwards to the social, legal, and economic circumstances that affect the community as a whole.

Salecl noted that this focus on one’s self discourages people from attempting to instigate change in societies, creating a closed loop that separates people from their communities and further drives them into anxiety - which, they feel, can only be mitigated by delving deeper into consumerism and the ideology of choice.

In this ideology, Salecl summarized, people forget that their economic situation determines their choices. Instead, they believe that making correct choices will improve their economic situation, thereby eschewing social safety-nets and policies and opting instead for an infinitesimal chance at great success.