Episode 95: The Hollow Vanity of Libertarian "Choice" Rhetoric

Episode 95: The Hollow Vanity of Libertarian "Choice" Rhetoric

"'Right-to-work' means freedom and choice," a Boston Globe op-ed explains. "As housing costs rise, some people are choosing to live on the road instead," a Fox Business headline states. "If your insurance company isn't doing right by you, you should have another, better choice," reads Joe Biden's campaign platform.
We're told repeatedly that "freedom of choice" is essential to a robust economy and human happiness. Economists, executives, politicians, and pundits insist that, the same way consumers shop for TVs, workers can choose their healthcare plan, parents can choose their kids' school, and gig-economy workers can choose their own schedules and benefits.

While this language is superficially appealing, it's also profoundly deceitful. The notion of "choice" as a gateway to freedom and a sign of societal success isn't a neutral call for people to exercise some abstract civic power; it's free-market capitalist ideology manufactured by libertarian and neoliberal think tanks and their mercenary economists and media messaging nodes. Its purpose: to convince people that they have a choice while obscuring the economic factors that ensure they really don't: People can't "choose" to keep their employer-provided insurance if they're fired from their jobs or "choose" to enroll their kids in private school if they can't afford the tuition.

In this episode, we examine the rise of "choice" rhetoric, how it cravenly appeals to our vanity, and how US media has uncritically adopted the framing--helping the right erode social services while atomizing us all into independent, self-interested collections of "choices."

We are joined by Jessica Stites, executive editor of In These Times.

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Episode 224: Corporate Self-Regulation and the Fine Art of 'Preempting" Public Outrage

Episode 224: Corporate Self-Regulation and the Fine Art of 'Preempting" Public Outrage

In this episode, we detail the classic PR gambit of corporations anticipating regulation, offering to "self-police," implementing token or superficial reforms, waiting for the outrage to blow over, th...

16 Juli 20251h 11min

News Brief: ADL, Corporate Media, Dem Elites Manufature "Antisemitism" Scandal to Discipline Mamdani

News Brief: ADL, Corporate Media, Dem Elites Manufature "Antisemitism" Scandal to Discipline Mamdani

In this News Brief, we break down recent bad faith attacks on Zohran Mamdani, the ADL's DO YOU CONDEMN extortion racket, and the broader "antisemitism scandal" playbook to derail moderate social democ...

1 Juli 202538min

News Brief: Natural Disaster-izing the Deliberate US-Israeli Starvation Campaign in Gaza

News Brief: Natural Disaster-izing the Deliberate US-Israeli Starvation Campaign in Gaza

In this News Brief, we are joined by Ashley Bohrer and Ben Teller of Jewish Voice for Peace Chicago to discuss media indifference to the US and Israel-imposed starvation of Palestinians, how sectarian...

19 Juni 202529min

News Brief: Pundits Speed-Run 15 Months of Iraq War Propaganda for Iran in Five Days

News Brief: Pundits Speed-Run 15 Months of Iraq War Propaganda for Iran in Five Days

In this News Brief, we break down the insta-talking points to sell war with Iran––from Ticking Time Bomb '24' plots to cherry-picked, dubious anecdotes of Iranians supposedly begging for Israeli bombs...

17 Juni 202532min

News Brief: US Media, Top Dems Assist Trump and Israel's Unprovoked Attack on Iran

News Brief: US Media, Top Dems Assist Trump and Israel's Unprovoked Attack on Iran

In this public News Brief, we detail how the NYT, Washington Post, and CNN reinforce every faulty premise of Israel's attack and how top Democrats in Congress and former Harris aides either ignore Tru...

13 Juni 202530min

Ep. 223: The Empire Strikes First, Part II — 'Abundance' Pablum as Counter to Left Populism

Ep. 223: The Empire Strikes First, Part II — 'Abundance' Pablum as Counter to Left Populism

"Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?," wonders Samuel Moyn in the New York Times. "The Democrats Are Finally Landing on a New Buzzword. It's Actually Compelling," argues Slate staff writer Henry G...

11 Juni 20251h 25min

Ep 222 - The Empire Strikes First Part I: Party Elites Who Lost to Trump (Twice) Blame Everyone But Themselves

Ep 222 - The Empire Strikes First Part I: Party Elites Who Lost to Trump (Twice) Blame Everyone But Themselves

In Ep. 222, "The Empire Strikes First Part I: Party Elites Who Lost to Trump (Twice) Blame Everyone But Themselves," we detail how our media allows the same party flacks who got the Dems into this mes...

4 Juni 20251h 21min

Episode 221: Anti-Science Mugging on the Right and the Ascent of American Anti-Intellectualism

Episode 221: Anti-Science Mugging on the Right and the Ascent of American Anti-Intellectualism

In this episode we detail demagogues' favorite faux populist schtick of taking scientific studies out of context and mocking them, often with help from mainstream media. with guest Brenda Ekwurzel, di...

28 Maj 20251h 8min

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