A Hobson's choice is a free choice in which only one thing is actually offered. The term is often used to describe an illusion that multiple choices are available. The most well known Hobson's choice is "I'll give you a choice: take it or leave it", wherein "leaving it" is strongly undesirable. The phrase is said to have originated with Thomas Hobson (1544–1631), a livery stable owner in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England, who offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in his stall nearest to the door or taking none at all.

Origins

According to a plaque underneath a painting of Hobson donated to

Cambridge Guildhall Cambridge Guildhall is a civic building in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge, England. It includes two halls, ''The Large Hall'' and ''The Small Hall'', and is used for many disparate events such as comedy acts, conferences, craft fai ...

, Hobson had an extensive stable of some 40 horses. This gave the appearance to his customers that, upon entry, they would have their choice of mounts, when in fact there was only one: Hobson required his customers to take the horse in the stall closest to the door. This was to prevent the best horses from always being chosen, which would have caused those horses to become overused. Hobson's stable was located on land that is now owned by

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...

Early appearances in writing

According to the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

'', the first known written usage of this phrase is in ''The rustick's alarm to the Rabbies'', written by Samuel Fisher in 1660: It also appears in

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richar ...

's paper ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' (No. 509 of 14 October 1712); and in Thomas Ward's 1688 poem "England's Reformation", not published until after Ward's death. Ward wrote:

Modern use

The term "Hobson's choice" is often used to mean an illusion of choice, but it is not a choice between two equivalent options, which is a

Morton's fork A Morton's fork is a type of false dilemma in which contradictory observations lead to the same conclusion. It is said to have originated with the rationalising of a benevolence by the 15th century English prelate John Morton. The earliest known ...

, nor is it a choice between two undesirable options, which is a

dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dis ...

. Hobson's choice is one between something or nothing. John Stuart Mill, in his book ''

Considerations on Representative Government ''Considerations on Representative Government'' is a book by John Stuart Mill published in 1861. Summary Mill argues for representative government, the ideal form of government in his opinion. One of the more notable ideas Mill puts forth in the ...

'', refers to Hobson's choice: In another of his books, '' The Subjection of Women'', Mill discusses

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

: A Hobson's choice is different from: *

Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dis ...

: a choice between two or more options, none of which are attractive. * False dilemma: only certain choices are considered, when in fact there are others. *

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non- ...

: a

logical paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired by not being in that very situation. *

, and a

double bind A double bind is a dilemma in communication in which an individual (or group) receives two or more reciprocally conflicting messages. In some scenarios (e.g. within families or romantic relationships) this can be emotionally distressing, creati ...

: choices yield equivalent and, often, undesirable results. * Blackmail and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

: the choice between paying money (or some non-monetary good or deed) or risk suffering an unpleasant action. A common error is to use the phrase "Hobbesian choice" instead of "Hobson's choice", confusing the philosopher

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book '' Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

with the relatively obscure Thomas Hobson. (It is possible the confusion is between "Hobson's choice" and a "

Hobbesian trap The Hobbesian trap (or Schelling's dilemma) is a theory that explains why preemptive strikes occur between two groups, out of bilateral fear of an imminent attack. Without outside influences this situation will lead to a fear spiral ( catch-22, vic ...

", which refers to the situation in which a state attacks another out of fear.)

Common law

In ''

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha ''Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha'', 462 U.S. 919 (1983), was a United States Supreme Court case ruling in 1983 that the one-house legislative veto violated the constitutional separation of powers. Background Section 244(a)(1) ...

'' (1983), Justice

Byron White Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. Born and raised in Colo ...

dissented and classified the majority's decision to strike down the "one-house veto" as unconstitutional as leaving Congress with a Hobson's choice. Congress may choose between "refrain ngfrom delegating the necessary authority, leaving itself with a hopeless task of writing laws with the requisite specificity to cover endless special circumstances across the entire policy landscape, or in the alternative, to abdicate its lawmaking function to the executive branch and independent agency". In '' Philadelphia v. New Jersey'', 437 U.S. 617 (1978), the majority opinion ruled that a New Jersey law which prohibited the importation of solid or liquid waste from other states into New Jersey was unconstitutional based on the Commerce Clause. The majority reasoned that New Jersey cannot discriminate between the intrastate waste and the interstate waste without due justification. In dissent, Justice Rehnquist stated: In '' Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York'', 436 U.S. 658 (1978) the judgement of the court was that In the South African Constitutional Case
MEC for Education, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Others v Pillay
', 2008 (1) SA 474 (CC) Chief Justice Langa for the majority of the Court (in Paragraph 62 of the judgement) writes that: In '' Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis'' (2018), Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

dissented and added in one of the footnotes that the petitioners "faced a Hobson’s choice: accept arbitration on their employer’s terms or give up their jobs". In In ''Meriwether v. Hartop'', the court addressed the university's offer, "Don’t use any pronouns or sex-based terms at all." It wrote, "The effect of this Hobson’s Choice is that Meriwether must adhere to the university’s orthodoxy (or face punishment). This is coercion, at the very least of the indirect sort."

In popular culture

Film and Television * ''Hobson's Choice'' (play), by Harold Brighouse (1915), which has been adapted numerous times: ** ''Hobson's Choice'' (1920 film), a silent film directed by Percy Nash ** ''Hobson's Choice'' (1931 film), directed by Thomas Bentley ** ''Hobson's Choice'' (1954 film), directed by David Lean ** '' Walking Happy,'' a 1966 Broadway musical by Jimmy Van Heusen ** ''Hobson's Choice'', a 1983 television-movie directed by Gilbert Cates ** ''Hobson's Choice'', a 1989 ballet by David Bintley directed by David Lean Literature * "Hobson's Choice", a 1952 short story written by Alfred Bester * '' The Terminal Experiment'', a 1995 science fiction novel originally serialized under the title ''Hobson's Choice''

References

External links

* {{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Hobson's Choice, volume=13 , page=553 English-language idioms Free will Metaphors referring to people Dilemmas