The thesis that preference should count in the allocation of resources rests on a relation between preference and either (1) welfare or (2) choice. Since economic theory defines “welfare” in terms of “preference–satisfaction,” no empirical relation holds between preference and welfare. This paper contends that the relation between preference and choice is also stipulative. Since the same behavior can be described in any number of ways, consistent with any number of different choices, choice is just as much a construct as preference. Both preference and choice exist in the eye of the beholder, so neither can provide data for welfare economics.