There has been no shortage of challenges to that most fundamental of all neo‐classical assumptions according to which people always act so as to maximise their utility. The most frequently heard objection has centred on the observation that acts of altruism are all around us. This...

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Freedom to Choose -- 3. Market Failure in the Shaping of Tastes -- 4. Fortifications, Extensions, Clarifications -- 5. Market Failure or Human Imperfection? -- 6. The Critic's Retreat -- 7. Sexual Choices: The First Order's Rise and the Second...