What is Freedom?

Some have described freedom as something of the inner-self. They have argued that a person chained in a dungeon is free if he allows his imagination to set himself free. This view of freedom comes from times of authoritarianism and oppression, including slavery. An alternative is that freedom is a condition external to the mind: that we can dream all we want but that we are not free unless we are unchained.

Freedom is power over odious circumstances. Unfortunately, such freedom requires money. We are freer if we have the power to buy what we want, including transportation to wherever we please. What attracted some to Marxism was collective freedom without the need for money. That is another dream, and some would say it was a dream that created odius circumstances. Marxism aside, we have greater freedom too if we have an abundance of knowledge that allows us more choices. Politically, freedom is power. A community of people is free if it has the power to choose those who will lead it. And individuals within that community have more freedom if by law the community protects the power of individuals to make choices -- the more choices the more freedom.

Some people have disliked making political choices and have found refuge in figures of authority. They have preferred dictation to freedom.

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