Ever feel like you're being watched? Do you feel like you are never truly alone? I wish I could say you were crazy because the tragedy of the situation is that you're not being haunted by a supernatural force of energy; reality is much less extravagant. Sadly, you are being watched by a poorly paid hawk eye who is spying on your every move.
Glad I caught your attention.
We are told that we are free. We're told that we were born into a developed country in which you have the power to control your own fate; as if it was ever yours to control. Statistics are shoved down our throats as if the government feels we are completely starved of their supposed invaluable information concerning the way we should live our lives. We follow their monotonous blue prints of how we should eat, drink, exercise, work, stay positive. Honestly, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they told us we should fold instead of scrunch our toilet roll due to the economical and environmental benefits; how adorable.
The point is, can we confidently agree that we are free. Or is the term 'freedom' much too general. Because, what is freedom? Is it having the choice to scrunch or fold? Is it having the choice to become a highly respected Lord when you are from a deprived, abandoned industrial estate? Is it having the choice to be completely alone in this world?
Of course, we could altogether flip the coin on this whole article. Maybe freedom is an ideology we should be afraid of. Freedom must surely mean choice. Yet in monumental choice is the greater possibility of failure. We don't let sheep wander in a territory that's well established with unforgiving predators, but somehow we wish the government would just let us be wild. Somehow, I can see being herded into a secure pen is not all bad.
Unfortunately, being in that pen must certainly mean the same destiny for everyone? A destiny in which all life within the enclosure is stripped of worth then left to die. Slightly dramatic metaphor that puts a long working life into perspective but I'm sticking by it. Is the sacrifice of twenty sheep worth the utter excellence of one.
I can never see myself being at peace with this issue. I am certain I wouldn't appreciate being abandoned on a lone island and told superiorly 'freedom is all yours'. I can appreciate that with fewer choices in this world, their are fewer chances I can land flat on my face; it's a secure safety net. With the exception of the inevitable 'but'. Will anyone ever feel genuinely emancipated from their leaders?
Who am I to say...
Kind regards,
Klinkmillie.
Whilst I am not accustomed to commenting on such issues as the concept of freedom, the points made here are ones which I cannot help but support. It is easy to see freedom as a purely idealogical concept: we indeed find ourselves in a world where everything from the most basic of morals to complex idealogical concepts such as that of property are accepted without question; but what stops up from deviating from this submission? Many would answer this question with references to religion; the prevention of anarchy or law.
ReplyDeleteThere is, to my immediate thought, only one reason why limitless freedom should not exist: self preservation. Perhaps HLA Hart articulated such thoughts better than I am able to. In order to survive in a group, there must be some order - 'primary rules' to use Hart's terminology - and this order must be maintained with 'secondary rules' and of course 'rules of adjudication'; to lead that group in to working together more efficiently, for the purpose of its own long term preservation.
Whether you are a believer of Darwin's natural selection theory or not, it is undeniable that humans have evolved beyond the need to preserve themselves independently. They function in a group. This, I submit, is the root of your concern. We are now faced with choice, as opposed to pressing needs, whilst being surrounded by vast moral, social and political systems, which attempt to, at a basic level, limit our freedom in exchange for the natural extent of our lives; an extension to the social contract theory, if you will.
Perhaps the question which you are trying to deal with is not 'what is freedom' or 'why is our freedom being curtailed', but rather, 'have the systems which limit our freedom become too overdeveloped'. In answer to that question, I say this: the purpose, to my mind, of limiting freedom is to ensure 'peaceful' existence in a time where we believe that our own purposes go beyond self-preservation. When the majority of people submit to be governed, the human species may progress (as opposed to ensuring the destruction of that same species). Law, the predominant way of ensuring compliance in our society, can only operate with our permission (even in a dictatorship - see Joseph Raz on the rule of law). Often, we express our want for more freedom - see your introduction to this article and combine it with recent controversy involving the NSA and GCHQ - although I submit that this 'want' in the context of a species' preservation is a very small issue, perhaps not such a bad thing.
'Freedom' is, to an extent, an illusion. Although to my mind, a lack of freedom connotes not a pathway to failure; a safety net or a covenant never to emancipate one's self from one's leaders, but rather a socially determined set of parameters within which one should lead their lives for the benefit our species in a broad sense. Law then becomes an ever changing gloss which facilitates this benefit.
If you prefer, you are given enough freedom to do plenty, whilst maximising the longevity of the aforementioned 'group'.
I hope this comment goes some way towards laying this issue to rest in your mind. Of course, I welcome any opposing viewpoints.