Elster wrote numerous books attempting to use rational choice theory for a wide variety of social explanations. "Rational choice theory is far more than a technical tool for explaining behaviour," he once wrote. "It is also, and very importantly, a way of coming to grips with ourselves - not only what we should do, but even what we should be." He attempted to apply it to topics as varied as politics ("Political Psychology"), bias and constrained preferences ("Sour Grapes"), emotions ("Alchemies of the Mind"), self-restraint ("Ulysses and the Sirens", which was selected for the Norwegian Sociology Canon), Marxism ("Making Sense of Marx"), and more.