Aswad
Posts: 9374
Joined: 4/4/2007 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: tweakabelle But what do these freedoms mean to someone about to die an unnecessary death because they can't afford health care? A lot, or it ain't a big loss. It prolly won't be the foremost thing on their mind, though, which is another matter entirely. quote:
Do we need to re-think what freedom is? No, you need to be clear on the difference between freedom, liberty and power. A lack of the latter is what ails the one starving and freezing in a cardboard box. A lack of the former two is more comfortable, but no less of an ailment. Any half decent thinker can design a comfortable and safe society for you, using current resources and technology, if- and, most likely, only if- you're willing to pass up on freedom, but you wouldn't like it, I hope, nor would I. quote:
ORIGINAL: fucktoyprincess Not sure why because I think this construct of "freedom" is a fascinating one that has cultural context, but, at least to me, has a more fundamental meaning that balances the individual against the society. That would be liberty, assuming I'm correctly understanding the meaning of that word as referring to the individual in a social context (and, in my view, it seems to straddle the line between being about freedom and being about power). quote:
I think the moment you give more "freedom" to either the individual or society you have tipped the balance the wrong way. Here, you seem to be conflating it with power. Society, in a nation state, is embodied in the nation, which has freedom bounded only by the strength of other nations and their will to intervene, arguably the closest you can come to "total" freedom. You can't "give" freedom to either society or individuals. You can, however, give them power. And, yes, a balance of powers is fundamental to a working society, which is nothing new. Voters, media, judicial, executive, etc., are seperated as part of effecting a balance. IWYW, — Aswad.
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"If God saw what any of us did that night, he didn't seem to mind. From then on I knew: God doesn't make the world this way. We do." -- Rorschack, Watchmen.
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