The Hidden History of Free Choice
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Current Issue
Q&A
/ March 18, 2026
The Hidden History of Free Choice
A conversation with Sophia Rosenfeld, about her recent book, on the roots of the concept of choice.
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
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From voting for politicians to picking a partner or spouse, choice dominates almost every sphere of modern life. However, when did choice become central to our understanding of freedom? Moreover, how do we evaluate the nature of this freedom given, in our digital age, the endless options it now entails? In her recent book, The Age of Choice, the historian Sophia Rosenfeld traces the proliferation of choice back to the 17th century—with the emergence of shopping as an activity and the rise of religious freedom—and forward to our current debates around abortion to show how we arrived at our current obsession with choice. In doing so, she offers not only a history of the role of choice in consumer culture, romantic and sexual life, ideas and beliefs, and politics, but also a meditation on the future of a core value of liberalism in a moment of political uncertainty.
The Nation spoke with Sophia Rosenfeld about the history of choice in connection with the rise of capitalism and religious freedom, and how modern understandings of choice have shaped romantic relationships, voting for political candidates, the Pro-Choice movements, among other topics.
—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins: I want to start by asking a general framing question. The book is about the rise of personal choice in the modern period, which focuses on shopping, religion, romance and sentimental life, as well as politics. But I wonder if we can place that in the context of what came before, so as to make the intervention more clear. A lot of historians are resistant to broad periodization, but it certainly seems the case that choice was viewed more negatively in the past. So what is a premodern conception of choice? How do you make these distinctions?
Sophia Rosenfeld: On the question of periodization—I don’t think there’s a precise moment when people stop making choices one way and suddenly start making them a new way. This is a story that sprawls across many centuries because these are not the kinds of changes that can be dated, per se.
But I do think there is a trajectory to the history of choice. Of course, people have always had to make decisions about their lives in various ways. But today we make many more choices and have given the idea of “choice” considerably more importance in the way we think about and shape our lives than people did in the distant past. And the nature of choosing has changed as well.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue …
Every delay has consequences.
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Current Issue
Q&A
/ March 18, 2026
The Hidden History of Free Choice
A conversation with Sophia Rosenfeld, about her recent book, on the roots of the concept of choice.
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
From voting for politicians to picking a partner or spouse, choice dominates almost every sphere of modern life. However, when did choice become central to our understanding of freedom? Moreover, how do we evaluate the nature of this freedom given, in our digital age, the endless options it now entails? In her recent book, The Age of Choice, the historian Sophia Rosenfeld traces the proliferation of choice back to the 17th century—with the emergence of shopping as an activity and the rise of religious freedom—and forward to our current debates around abortion to show how we arrived at our current obsession with choice. In doing so, she offers not only a history of the role of choice in consumer culture, romantic and sexual life, ideas and beliefs, and politics, but also a meditation on the future of a core value of liberalism in a moment of political uncertainty.
The Nation spoke with Sophia Rosenfeld about the history of choice in connection with the rise of capitalism and religious freedom, and how modern understandings of choice have shaped romantic relationships, voting for political candidates, the Pro-Choice movements, among other topics.
—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins: I want to start by asking a general framing question. The book is about the rise of personal choice in the modern period, which focuses on shopping, religion, romance and sentimental life, as well as politics. But I wonder if we can place that in the context of what came before, so as to make the intervention more clear. A lot of historians are resistant to broad periodization, but it certainly seems the case that choice was viewed more negatively in the past. So what is a premodern conception of choice? How do you make these distinctions?
Sophia Rosenfeld: On the question of periodization—I don’t think there’s a precise moment when people stop making choices one way and suddenly start making them a new way. This is a story that sprawls across many centuries because these are not the kinds of changes that can be dated, per se.
But I do think there is a trajectory to the history of choice. Of course, people have always had to make decisions about their lives in various ways. But today we make many more choices and have given the idea of “choice” considerably more importance in the way we think about and shape our lives than people did in the distant past. And the nature of choosing has changed as well.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue …
The Hidden History of Free Choice
Every delay has consequences.
Log In
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Password *
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The Hidden History of Free Choice
Magazine
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Subscribe
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Search
Subscribe
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Magazine
Latest
Archive
Podcasts
Newsletters
Sections
Politics
World
Economy
Culture
Books & the Arts
The Nation
About
Events
Contact Us
Advertise
Current Issue
Q&A
/ March 18, 2026
The Hidden History of Free Choice
A conversation with Sophia Rosenfeld, about her recent book, on the roots of the concept of choice.
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
From voting for politicians to picking a partner or spouse, choice dominates almost every sphere of modern life. However, when did choice become central to our understanding of freedom? Moreover, how do we evaluate the nature of this freedom given, in our digital age, the endless options it now entails? In her recent book, The Age of Choice, the historian Sophia Rosenfeld traces the proliferation of choice back to the 17th century—with the emergence of shopping as an activity and the rise of religious freedom—and forward to our current debates around abortion to show how we arrived at our current obsession with choice. In doing so, she offers not only a history of the role of choice in consumer culture, romantic and sexual life, ideas and beliefs, and politics, but also a meditation on the future of a core value of liberalism in a moment of political uncertainty.
The Nation spoke with Sophia Rosenfeld about the history of choice in connection with the rise of capitalism and religious freedom, and how modern understandings of choice have shaped romantic relationships, voting for political candidates, the Pro-Choice movements, among other topics.
—Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins
Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins: I want to start by asking a general framing question. The book is about the rise of personal choice in the modern period, which focuses on shopping, religion, romance and sentimental life, as well as politics. But I wonder if we can place that in the context of what came before, so as to make the intervention more clear. A lot of historians are resistant to broad periodization, but it certainly seems the case that choice was viewed more negatively in the past. So what is a premodern conception of choice? How do you make these distinctions?
Sophia Rosenfeld: On the question of periodization—I don’t think there’s a precise moment when people stop making choices one way and suddenly start making them a new way. This is a story that sprawls across many centuries because these are not the kinds of changes that can be dated, per se.
But I do think there is a trajectory to the history of choice. Of course, people have always had to make decisions about their lives in various ways. But today we make many more choices and have given the idea of “choice” considerably more importance in the way we think about and shape our lives than people did in the distant past. And the nature of choosing has changed as well.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue …
