No one seriously believes that actors in the economy sit down and calculate their maximized utility functions.  That's just a way for economists to convey characteristics of a consumer in a model -- her appetite for risk, her preferences, etc.  It's a way of saying, "Person X like Starbucks better than Maxwell House and, given the choice and price level, she'll consumer y units of each."

The alternative may well be unemployment.  You're, of course, right.  But it's still the choices of situations similar to that -- obviously we would all prefer it to be a choice between two jobs -- that determines any number of other things.  The worker is not forced into the job by some sort of strong-arming.  He's taking the job as the alternative to unemployment.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.