Some people use the concept of negative externalities to argue for government to force people toward "what is best for them." An example of this is the call for a consumption tax.
A given goal dictates the specific means that an individual will choose for the attainment of that end. People make choices that they think will help them achieve an end.
Some anti-Brexit pundits tried to frame the Brexit debate as one of savvy economics-minded people against economic illiterates. These people missed the point.
Anti-capitalists love to claim that consumers don't really have free choice — that advertisers and peers really dictate to others what they should buy. In truth, consumers choose freely, but use others to filter information and simplify the process.
Scrooge was wrong, and his Nephew Fred was right. While it's true the benefits of feasting with friends and family can't be calculated in a ledger, that doesn't mean those things have no value.
Gentrification gets bad press. It would appear that the gentrifier (he who engages in gentrification) is a malign exploiter, a bully, someone who takes advantage of the weak and the poor. And these are the nice things said about him.
