"Another example is the supermarket shelf, which is an absolute riot of choice; fifty six brands of Raisin Brain and three hundred variants of mustard."
but mostly an overload of duplication with basic differences meaning , often, packaging and not much more...of course it's better to have a cheaper product available at a major crook, like safeway, than a minor, well, not really crook, mom and pop, but there is or should be a happy medium...
we don't really get the full benefit of the scale that lowers price according to volume, which is what enables safeway-walmart to put corner grocery stores out of business..
and then again, people with money love to go to special, small, gourmet places where there is a personal touch, as well as better quality and much higher price, being willing to sacrifice the convenience of choice- again, often packaged duplication - for quality, at least as perceived, but frequently experienced...
rich or poor, it's good to have money...that was true before and since super markets... fs
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