The article reflects approaches to social choice and their diversity, as well as the role of social choice in society as a sociological category and its characteristics. Social choice in various forms is a phenomenon that occurs in all social circles of an individual's life. The factors influencing the freedom of social choice are diverse: depending on society, personal preferences and random circumstances, socio-political events, etc. Among the factors listed in the article, the most significant are public interests, attempts to reveal the conditions of the influence of public interests on the choice of individuals. For any State, a certain social policy often serves the public interest. However, in most cases, unlike the interests of the majority, it is aimed at satisfying the special interests and needs of the influential part of the population. The possibility of social choice is a criterion for people to exercise their rights and freedoms. In this article, the problem of social choice in the process of developing a policy focused on public interests is, in practical terms, a socio-political conceptual dilemma. Specific studies on how the relationship between social choice and public interests is determined, criteria and nature of development and implementation in public policy do not currently provide a complete explanation of social choice. Therefore, a very important issue is the sociological study of the category of social choice, the identification and assessment of the nature of public interests and the conditions under which it is possible for social policy to correspond to public interests.