“A world of few choices, whether in jeans or mates, is a world in which individual differences become sources of alienation, unhappiness, even self-loathing. If no jeans fit, you'll feel uncomfortable or inferior. If no housing developments reflect your taste for unique architecture, you'll write screeds against philistine mass culture.”

American journalist and author

Virginia Postrel is an American journalist and author who writes about commerce, culture, and technology. She is known for essays and commentary on how these areas shape modern life. She is a contributing editor at Works in Progress and co-hosts the podcast Everyday Abundance. Her work often focuses on the meeting point of markets, ideas, and everyday life, with a clear interest in how people make sense of change.