Author Description

Individuals in modern societies are frequently overwhelmed by choice, from employers, government agencies, utility providers, doctors and financial services. Joel Anderson argues that there is a tendency to misdiagnose the problem as 'too much complexity' or the 'inherent irrationality' of individuals. He outlines the idea of 'autonomy gaps' as an alternative frame of analysis, referring to the gap between the capacities for choice that are presupposed by various institutions or public policies, and the capacity that individuals actually have to make rational choices. This more dynamic understanding of a key social predicament of modern life requires reconfiguring our understanding of autonomy, clarifying the normative grounds for criticizing autonomy gaps and identifying a range of strategies for closing autonomy gaps or ameliorating their effects. Joel Anderson's new concept of critical social theory is discussed by interlocutors including Amy Allen, Rutger Claassen, Peter John, Catriona MacKenzie, Barry Schwartz, Mark White, Jackie Leach Scully and John Christman, closing with a response from Anderson.