The Context of Freedom
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The Context of Freedom |
We often use words (such as freedom) without fully understanding them in any deep way or context. This paper explores one perspective of Freedom. Its purpose is to stimulate thinking about the meaning of Freedom. (I capitalize the word Freedom because it occupies such a prominent position in our thinking.)
Freedom is not a right or a gift. It has to be earned. Statements of this type usually bring forth concepts of vigilance against tyranny getting a foothold, or fighting to rid a society of an overly restrictive or exploitive government or ruling class. There is an even deeper, more fundamental meaning to "earning Freedom" which this paper will discuss.
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A
Definition of Freedom
Looking in a dictionary one finds a multiplicity of definitions, all of which imply the absence of external control of the individual. The reader can look up the word in his own dictionary. Here we attempt to expand upon the dictionary meaning.
There are two distinct components to Freedom. The first must be achieved before the second can be realized.
(1) Freedom from having to do something (the primary Freedom). This is the basic Freedom. Only after sufficient Freedom from being forced to do things can the second type of Freedom come into play. What sort of "Freedom from" is implied here? Two major "freedom froms" come to mind.
(2) Freedom to do something (the secondary Freedom). Only after the primary freedoms given above have been fulfilled is a person Free to pursue other actions, based on his own desires and interests. Some of these might be improvement of standard of living, education, recreation, sport, art, hobby, travel, loafing, collecting, expressing one's self (Freedom of speech), religion, etc.
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Society
Increases Secondary Freedoms
As we have seen above, the primary Freedom of not having to spend all of one's time and energy to fulfill basic needs must come before other Freedoms. How does this come about?
One can be "lucky" and live in a "Garden of Eden" where extracting a living from the environment is easy and takes little time. More likely these needs are filled by concerted effort, applying knowledge in a cooperative and organized manner. This means, in effect, by living in a society.
In a society, there is a division of labor, skills, and knowledge, coupled with some form of organization, which allows specialization. Through specialization, efficiency and productivity are greatly increased. It can be shown that these factors are at work in even the most "primitive" societies. The more advanced the society, the greater the knowledge, organization, and specialization. In the United States we have a great deal of Free time and energy because we have a highly developed society. This Free time and energy, coupled with our open and Free political society, allows us to pursue the secondary Freedoms.
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The
Morality of Freedom
Most persons believe they should not steal from others. This is a moral dictate which has developed over countless ages. It is recognized as applying between individuals; we should not steal from each other (as individuals). The writer believes in a wider definition; one which include not stealing from society. While this wider definition may not be fully followed by all members of society (cheating on income tax, welfare fraud, etc.), it is probable that most members of society recognize this wider definition of stealing.
There is an even wider definition. A person who is benefiting from society should be willing to contribute to society for the benefit of others. To the extent that a person extracts benefits from society without contributing something of value back to society, he is stealing from society (and from all the members of that society). When one has Freedom to pursue his own desires he should realize that Freedom came from society, and that he has an obligation to pay for that Freedom.
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The
Responsibility of Freedom
What responsibilities go with Freedom? As addressed above, a person should attempt to contribute to society so that the Freedom of all persons is enhanced. He should endeavor to be as productive as practical within his own context and capability. This productivity contributes to the totality of Free time the society has to pursue secondary Freedoms. This does not mean that he should become a slave to work and totally subordinate himself to the benefit of others. It does mean that he should do his fair share to contribute to the welfare of the society; he should endeavor to pay society back for the Freedom it has provided to him.
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The
Ramifications of Freedom
What are some of the ramifications and implications of this view of Freedom?
First, a person should, out of moral conviction, pay for his Freedom by his contribution to society. He should be willing to work productively, realizing that his work contributes to the overall well-being (and Freedom) of all people. This work can be both the work he does for which he is paid, and any volunteer work he may enjoy and be suited for.
Second, he should be willing to guard against political and economic tyranny and exploitation by the exercise of his Freedom of speech and his vote.
Third, he should avoid using his Freedoms in a way which detract from his ability to pay back his debt to society for those very Freedoms.
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How
Freedom is Abused
Freedom is abused by not tending to its nurture in a political sense (not voting, not expressing one's self to the elected officials and to each other). These concepts are well known, even if not well applied, and I will not elaborate on them here.
Freedom is also abused when it is used to totally selfish ends, without putting back into society the type of effort which created it in the first place. The person who cheats and steals in the normal sense of these words is an obvious example. Less well recognized are persons who use their Freedoms in ways which reduce their efficiency or willingness to be contributing members of society, or because of self-abuse become a burden upon the society.
A good example of this behavior is the substance abuser. His logic often goes something like this:
"This is a free country. I have the inalienable right to do as I please as long as it does not hurt anyone else. That includes my personal use of drugs of any type. If I understand the dangers and do harm to myself, that is my decision, and is not the business of society."
This argument initially seems sound, but it isn't. Let us examine its components.
"This is a free country." Yes it is, but only because its people have been willing to create it in the first place, and to maintain its Freedom thereafter. These activities have required clear thought and effective action. It is well substantiated that persons under the influence of mind and mood altering drugs have reduced capacities of alertness, reduced clarity of thought, and reduced motivation towards productivity. Persons who use drugs will often deny this because drugs have a strong tendency to create the allusion of creativity, capability, and clear insightful thinking. In fact, these drugs are taken because they produce the very opposite effects. They either provide escape from problems and pressures by preventing one from having to deal with them, or they push them out of mind by thrusting pleasurable sensations into consciousness (at the expense of other thoughts).
"I have the inalienable right to do as I please as long as it does not hurt anyone else." This is true. The fallacy is the actions that are taken under the "protection" of this statement virtually always hurt others (directly and indirectly).
"That includes my personal use of drugs of any type" The obvious and often sighted example that contradicts this position is the drunk driver who kills some innocent bystander. Unfortunately, the drug (alcohol) which makes the person dangerous to society also so dulls that person's mind that his perception is that he is in good shape and can drive safely. Perception distortion is true of many other drugs. Often the perception is they are being quite productive, while those around them see that they are to some degree disabled. These more subtle effects hurt other people indirectly. Every time a person does something to himself which detracts from his ability to be a productive, contributing member of society, he is hurting others. He is hurting them by restricting their Freedom, by making them carry a heavier load for the overall support and development of society. While the reduction of efficiency of a single individual will have no perceptible impact on any other individual member of society, when there are significant percentages of such inefficient workers, the impact is significant.
"If I understand the dangers and do harm to myself, that is my decision, and is not the business of society." Our society and our laws do not allow abandonment of individuals in medical trouble simply because they have caused their own problems by drug use. The time, energy, and money expended to care for such "self-destructed" individuals detracts from the society's ability to deal with other problems, or to advance its standard of living (that is, to increase its secondary Freedoms). What one person does to damage himself does hurt society and all of its members. On a more personal basis, the friends and family of such a "self destructed" person experience a great deal of personal pain, and their ability to be productive members of society is reduced by that pain. Sometimes the degree and duration of this spin-off from a "self destruction" can be considerable.
The basic approach is to Expand the student's Self-Interest Horizon. That is, to teach the above information in such a way that the student realizes the practical basis of of his freedoms, and recognizes that it is to his advantage that he and other members of society do not abuse their freedoms.
- Russ Andrews
- Computer Literacy Teacher