Spoilt for choice? How consumerism can disempower public service users

1 July 1995

journal article
developments
Published by Taylor & Francis in Public Money and Management

Vol. 15 (3) , 53-58
https://doi.org/10.1080/09540969509387882

Abstract

The determination to increase individual choice lies at the heart of the Governments public service reforms and its strategy for empowering citizens as consumers. This article, informed by recent sociological discussions of the characteristics of contemporary social life, suggests that prioritizing individual choice can have disempowering consequences for public service users, generating confusion, uncertainty and stress. A better alternative would be to develop means of strengthening users’ influence over the shape and content of services.

Keywords

This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:

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