History Main / FreedomFromChoice

* During one of the Truth-sessions of ''AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'' you can hear how one of the modern descendants of the Knights Templar describes how they will provide mankind freedom from democracy and choice, and all base and material for a good measure.

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* According to Tabitha in Fallout:NewVegas, the super mutants long for this situation, given her advertisement for "Utobitha" is to not have to think for yourself

In our modern society, people are supposed to have "freedom of choice" and be happy about it. Ironically, however, this sometimes make people feel anxious, uncertain and trapped in being forced to make choices. This make them resent the constant choice-making, sometimes even giving it up if given an excuse: RealLife can feel like a QuicksandBox. May or may not lead the character to become PropertyOfLove, or even enjoy HappinessInSlavery, finding someone else to run their life for them.

* occording to Tabitha in Fallout:NewVegas, the super mutants long for this situation, given her advertisement for "Utobitha" is to not have to think for yourself

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he wants to buy there are countless meaningless options. The particular focus of his rant is potato chips. "What if I want less fat ''and'' less salt? What distinguishes 'Lite' from these others?"
** And don't even ask about the peanut butter.

->''Freedom of choice is what you got,''
->''Freedom from choice is what you want.''
-->'''Devo''', "Freedom of Choice"

* ''The Paradox of Choice'' by Barry Schwartz is about how too many choices are paralyzing society.

* This trope figures heavily in ''The Giver'' by Lois Lowry.

In our modern society, people are supposed to have "freedom of choice" and be happy about it. Ironically, however, this sometimes make people feel anxious, uncertain and trapped in being forced to make choices. This make them resent the constant choice-making, sometimes even giving it up if given an excuse: RealLife can feel like a QuicksandBox. May or may not lead the character to become PropertyOfLove, or even enjoy HappinessInSlavery, finding someone else to run his life for him.

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he wants to buy there are countless meaningless options. The particular focus of his rant is potato chips. "What if I want less fat ''and'' less salt? What distinguishes 'Lite' from these others?"

While freedom from choice is morally neutral, a character who takes the desire for freedom from choice too far might [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become destructive/evil]] as he goes off the deep end pondering TheEvilsOfFreeWill, such as how you would expect the KnightTemplar to justify himself.

In our modern society, people are supposed to have "freedom of choice" and be happy about it. Ironically, however, this sometimes make people feel trapped in being forced to make choices. This make them resent the constant choice-making, sometimes even giving it up if given an excuse: RealLife can feel like a QuicksandBox.

This desire can be stirred by an overly LongList. May or may not lead the character to become PropertyOfLove, or even enjoy HappinessInSlavery, finding someone else to run his life for him.

[[TheFundamentalist Fundamentalists]] and [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] can use this to justify their belief on TheEvilsOfFreeWill.

While freedom from choice is morally neutral, a character who takes the desire for freedom from choice too far might [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become destructive/evil]] as he goes off the deep end pondering TheEvilsOfFreeWill.

In our modern society, people are supposed to have "freedom of choice" and be happy about it. Ironically, however, this sometimes make people feel trapped in being forced to make choices. This make them resent the constant choice-making, sometimes even giving it up if given an excuse: RealLife can sometimes feel like a QuicksandBox.

* In [[FrankMiller Frank Miller's]] ''TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' there is a passing reference to a "Freedom from Information Act", presumably intended as a satirical slap on the recent activities of the Bush administration.

* This trope figures heavily in ''The Giver'' by Louis Shultz.

!!Examples:

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he wants to buy there are countless meaningless options. The particular focus of his rant is potato chips. "What if I want less fat ''and'' less salt? What distinguishes 'Lite' from these others?"

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he wants to buy there are countless meaningless options.

Examples:

* Alvin Toffler's nonfiction book ''Future Shock'' predicted that in the future, everything would be customizable, leading to "overchoice".* ''The Paradox of Choice'' by Barry Schwartz is about how too many choices are paralyzing society.

This desire can be stirred by an overly LongList. May or may not lead the character to become PropertyOfLove, or even enjoy HappinessInSlavery, finding someone else to run their lives for them.

Note that this is about resenting having to make choices ''at all'': Resenting a SadisticChoice is not this trope. However, exposure to such choices might lead a character to this trope as he develop a longing for a simpler and less painful life.

While FreedomFromChoice is morally neutral, a character who takes the desire for FreedomFromChoice too far might [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become destructive/evil]] as he goes off the deep end pondering TheEvilsOfFreeWill.

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* In CalvinAndHobbes, Calvin's dad goes on a rant about this as he's out shopping and grows increasingly frustrated with the fact that for every item he want to buy there are countless meaningless options.

* CityOfEmber has a bit of this.

* In the book ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Brit-Think-Ameri-Think-Transatlantic-Survival-Revised/dp/0142001341 Brit-Think/Ameri-Think]]'' there's a cartoon comparing and contrasting Americans and British buying ice cream. The American is at a Baskin-Robbins type shop with a thousand flavors to choose from; the Brit is given the option "vanilla or chocolate?" His reply: "You choose."
* This trope figures heavily in The Giver by Louis Shultz.
* In the later SlaveWorld novels, some of the enslaved protagonists are stranded in their old world. Thus they are free. But they want to go back to HappinessInSlavery, and this is one of the main reasons why.

* The {{Futurama}} episode where Lrr is going to eat Leela as a public spectacle. His exchange with the waiter goes as such:
-->'''Waiter''': That comes with soup or salad.
-->'''Lrr''': Uh, salad.
-->'''Waiter''': Ranch or vinaigrette?
-->'''Lrr''': (growling) Vinaigrette...