Any argument starting with "you are free not to..." invariably misses the point. Yes, freedom and individual responsibility are important. No, you cannot build

Any argument starting with "you are free not to..." invariably misses the point. Yes, freedom and individual responsibility are important. No, you cannot build a sane society exclusively on those. People don't have infinite time and knowledge to identify all the things, behaviors, products, services that "they are free not to choose". They can't read all the legalistic fine print designed by professionals to deceive and obfuscate while keeping them unaccountable. This is particularly problematic as the "freedom principle" gets applied differentially in sectoral silos: When you go to the supermarket, you don't have to choose what will not kill you. Ditto when you select a car, a medical procedure or drug. Why should the financial sector (or the tech sector for that matter, as the two increasingly merge) be any different? When people are increasingly data mined, algorithmically and behaviorally goaded to overconsumption patterns, instant gratification, addiction etc. the argument that they "are free to choose" is more than hollow. Until the US (and imitators) address this moral rot at the core of its socioeconomic system it will be rolling from crisis to crisis. This will only open the door for worse alternatives. Individual responsibility should only be invoked when the individuals concerned have all the required information and ability and can be reasonably expected to excercise that agency given their context across the entire spectrum of economic interactions.