Economía

COMMON SENSE SUGGESTS it is always preferable to have more options tan fewer, and better to have more knowledge tan less. This provocative book argues that, very often, common sense fails. Sometimes it is simply the case that less is more; people may benefit from being constrained in their options or from being ignorant. The three long essays that constitute this book revise and expand the ideas developed in Jon Elster's classic study Ulysses and the Sirens. It is not simply a new edition of the earlier book, though; many of the issues merely touched on before are explored here in much more detail. The first chapter is a survey of the ways in which and the reasons for which an individual might limit his or her freedom of action with examples ranging from religious fundamentalism to addiction. The second chapter criticizes Elster's own influential theory that political constitution can be regarded as precommitment devices. His view is now that in politics people mainly want to bind others, not themselves. The third chapter discusses constraints in the creation of artwork, with examples taken from novels, films, and jazz. In the conclusion Elster shows how these seemingly disparate examples reveal similar patterns, so much so that he proposes a new field of study: constraint theory. The book is written in Elster's characteristically vivid style and will interest professionals and students in philosophy, political science, psychology, and economics.