True Freedom leads to Authoritarian Control
Plenty of us want to be in control, or have the freedom to do what we want. But what if everyone was given total freedom? I’m not talking just about being able to have fun, I mean the kind where there are no rules and no one to stop you. We’d live in a place where no one’s life is of value unless they have power. If you want to have freedom, that’s great, but you have to have some rules and regulations in place in order to safeguard the masses.
Total freedom results in people getting hurt. Without some rules, more people would be subjugated under authoritarian orders which would never lead to a pure freedom for the people. In order for there to be true freedom, there needs to be some boundaries. And no matter what, people will be hurt under the idea of total freedom.
In life, there are rules and without those rules, things are less orderly. With rules, more people get to experience total freedom, which is a good thing. Without any rules, who knows what would happen? What if that one person would climb up the tree and some branches then broke, and then he fell out and got hurt? I imagine he would then feel that he wasn't really free. It’s important to have a balance between the two.
It’s interesting the debate on freedom and the limits we put on it. It’s a resolution that’s more philosophical rather than a concrete one. Without a system of rules, there would be more unfairness and often people would revert to terrifying, oppressive tactics. You can't have absolute freedom without the rules. Freedom doesn't exist without rules, that brings us to the concept of anarchy.
What is Anarchy / what does an Anarchist believe
A lot of people believe that an anarchist society would be one that would be more free to people. Let's first talk about what anarchy is and give it a definition.
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is sceptical of authority and rejects all involuntary, coercive forms of hierarchy. Anarchism calls for the abolition of the state, which it holds to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful. Source Wikipedia
Anarchism is a world view and social movement that rejects hierarchical forms of social organization. This rejection includes any form of government or other hierarchical organization. This philosophy relies on the idea that people are decent and want to be good but that those who are oppressed will be pushed to take on a hierarchical form. Anarchism is looking for a world where people come together voluntarily as equals to organize the basic needs of society. Under this philosophy, the state and other hierarchical institutions should be abolished.
Anarchism is an ideal that's a pipe dream. There are a lot of things wrong with anarchism. First of all, anarchy can't happen. Self Regulating people would be too much for all of us. At the same time, the idea that everyone is a good person deep down, is ridiculous. The world is a bad place, and people do harmful things deliberately and with intent. Even some people who want to do good can't, because they're scared and don't know how to.
Anarchism is an extreme ideal that is inherently utopian and it’s an idea with too many potential drawbacks to be taken seriously. The philosophy believes that everyone wants to be good and that the right thing to do is preserve life and take care of others without implementing any rules. That mentality may sound good in theory but it would do more harm than benefits.
All is being said, personally I see anarchism could work on small-scale community projects. Small groups of people coming together for a common cause for a short period of time. Over longer period of time a power dynamic has a high chance to develop and offset the balance of an anarchist society / movement. This then brings us the idea of how can we promote change that we want, to bring us more freedom.
How to Promote Change?
A recent study from the Belfer Center (an organization that believes in research and ideas for a more secure and peaceful world) produced an interesting paper. In it, they state that, from a study they conducted on 323 nonviolent and violent protests and movements around the world, the movements and protests that mobilized and assembled at least 3.5% of the population, produced a regime change (Source)[https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/IS3301_pp007-044_Stephan_Chenoweth.pdf].
That is a really fascinating idea, that the minority could promote change if they come together in unity. Unifying 3.5% of population is something that could happen, it is a tangible goal. So how do you reach that goal is the question?
There's a saying, you win through strength in numbers.
No matter what your political belief is or ideology is, to have strength in this world, you must have followers and friends, likewise you must be a follower and a friend. You must lend your time, treasure, or talent to organizations, groups, movements, that you believe in.
Again, you must lend your time, treasure or talent to the causes and organizations you believe and if you want to promote the change you want to see. This includes promoting a greater freedom for yourself or those you love.
Summary
The topic of this paper was True freedom leads to authoritarian control, in some ways it was a paper about freedom.
If you want to be truly free, you have to be able to give up your freedom in some way. This way, you’re able to grasp a greater freedom. We all want more freedom in life, but we have to stop clinging to it. This is a paradoxical concept, but if we are able to give up our freedom, and instead, focus on what we want, it’s possible to live a life of true freedom, and this is what in my option, we all truly want... greater freedom.
What are your thoughts on the topic?
- What does freedom mean to you?
- Do you believe in giving up freedom to have more freedom?
- You believe anarchism could happen?
Disclaimer
This is just an opinion article on a topic that is debated often. I'm not an expert on the subject, and I'm willing to admit that I might be wrong on the points and messages above. Please keep an open mind and if there are flaws of my logic or thinking let me know in a civil discord. :)
As always thanks for reading.
| Travel Photos: | @RoamingSparrow |
| Photo Repository: | Roamingsparrow.SmugMug.com |
Services I Use and Recommend:
 |  |
|---|---|
 |  |
 |  |
Help Support Ongoing Content
| Bitcoin (BTC) | 18zopjg9Y2VA1ouCqCZapN3UzdpK3UnMdm |
| Ethereum (ETH) | 0x849C33abCb753540fD0D6cDd25df05BC20a1254E |
| litecoin (LTC) | LdWUz5haDfkn4D1fxmte8nJePEGjJv6Lqh |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | 1DRRtY3j5xzx6Dn9ofQgoosXdqGVsYYNcU |
| Helix (HLIX) | HPnubkb9FBtSZKPjRvqD166BX4vPK3GtAz |
Freedom is like an eagle soaring in the sky without limitation 🦅 ;)
@babeltrips lets be eagles, I have always wanted to have the freedom to poop on people and cars.
Lol yesssss cool thought 😂
Thanks a lot, Hong.
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more
Congratulations @jacuzzi! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 85000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
Hi, Jacuzzi! Very thoughtful post, and I see where you are coming from. Let me start off by saying it's my opinion that humans are designed to be "self-governing" but getting to that state is an evolutionary process, and we haven't reached that level of evolution yet. I'll explain by responding to a few of your points directly.
We’d live in a place where no one’s life is of value unless they have power.To overcome this we need to mature as a species to acknowledge, value and respect the rights of all other humans as much as our own. I believe maybe about 1/2 the human population already do - maybe even more - but that the remainder either don't respect the rights of others or just don't give it any thought when directing their own actions.
In order for there to be true freedom, there needs to be some boundaries.By natural law, there is a boundary. It's the rights of others. The instant a person's actions violate the rights of another person, they have crossed that boundary and broken that law.
What if that one person would climb up the tree and some branches then broke, and then he fell out and got hurt? I imagine he would then feel that he wasn't really free.By this it sounds as if your idea of "True Freedom" includes freedom from accountability or negative consequences from taking risks. No society can function under that condition. Not even a family can function that way.
With great power comes great responsibility." And what is more powerful than true freedom? Therefore, with true freedom comes great responsibility. That responsibility is to be always aware of the effect of our actions on others, conduct our behavior such that it respects and protects the rights of others and accepts responsibility for the consequences of our actions. We'll never be perfect at this and there will occasionally be unavoidable accidents and actions that unintentionally negatively impact others. In such instances it is imperative that the "violator" acknowledge and accept accountability.
I agree with you that we aren't there yet and that in the meantime we do need some institutionalized laws to protect everyone's rights. But I believe that it is our raison d'etre to grow and evolve beyond this limitation and in time achieve a state where we can be self-governing and truly free.
That is a really fascinating idea, that the minority could promote change if they come together in unity.One concrete action "the minority" could take in this case would be to promote the mandatory teaching of ethics in schools with emphasis on Emmanuel Kant and the impact his ideas would have on society. About 250 years ago philosophy and ethics were a mandatory part of education. We need to bring that back.
Great post, and I hope others jump in with their thoughts.