Freedom
By: Nathan Ricks
Tags: Government, Future, Misinformation, Goals, Freedom

When pondering what humanity’s goals should be in my original article, I felt something was missing. At first, I had only been able to think of prosperity, health, sustainability, equality, and exploration as being core goals of human happiness. With further reflection though, I saw that we could not reach the full potential of these goals without a global increase in freedom.

In this article, I am going to address what freedom is, how it is misperceived/misunderstood, and why we should value it in the first place. I hope to stay as unbiased and apolitical as possible, but it will be hard to avoid with such a topic, so be patient.

Let’s dive in.

What is Freedom?

I’ll define freedom as the ability to think, express, and act according to one’s desires without undue influence, bias, or distortion.

Freedom is a key quality of individualism. It gives people the room to have independent thoughts, feelings, and ways of living, something we value quite a bit in America.

Freedom at a societal level is increased as the number and quality of opportunities available to people collectively increases. These include the opportunity to get educated, work, and have a peaceful family life.

Finally, freedom includes the ability to choose how one is governed and by whom in democratic processes.

Misperceived/Misunderstood Freedom

Though a beloved value, freedom is often misperceived and misunderstood. One can have the perception of freedom without it actually existing (misperceived), and one can feel restricted while ultimately increasing freedom (misunderstood). Let’s walk through a few examples.

Example 1: Misperceived Freedom

As mentioned, freedom at an individual level entails the ability to make decisions without undue influence, bias, or distortion. In order to do this, however, one needs accurate data. This entails knowing what all of the options are, understanding the consequences of each option, and having it presented in an accurate and unbiased way.

In reality, this is very difficult to achieve as misinformation abounds in our social networks and news outlets. Whether produced by bad foreign actors, political parties, or internet trolls, there are many vying for your attention and opinions. And we don’t help our cause when we attract ourselves to the most sensational spin on a given event (whether it even occurred or not) and quickly spread it amongst our friends. As you might know, fake news spreads a lot faster than real news (more info).

Not only are we ingesting inaccurate information, but we are filtering it through our already biased brain. These biases grew out of evolutionary pressures and got us to where we are today; however, they won’t get us much further and it should be a goal of ours to minimize bias in ourselves.

Misinformation and bias are enemies of freedom. They give the perception of freedom while playing us like a puppet.

Example 2: Misunderstood Freedom

(Originally viewed on Success.com)

Let me start by asking you this: Do laws make you more or less free?

Let’s start with an easy example, like traffic laws. Traffic laws include stopping at red lights, using proper signals, and certainly not driving drunk.

Most of us prefer having traffic laws, but have you ever thought that they give you more freedom? Think of it this way: When traffic laws are not obeyed, much more traffic accidents occur. When more traffic accidents occur, more injuries and deaths occur. These, in turn, significantly limit the number and quality of choices one can make in life, the very definition of freedom.

One person drinking and driving in the name of “freedom” can significantly hamper another person’s freedom for years to come. This was certainly the case with my wife who was hit by a drunk driver several years back and still deals with the devasting physical and mental health effects.

What about requiring masks during a pandemic? At first, it would appear that you have less freedom if you were required to wear a mask. However, when thinking of how we increase freedom at a societal level, one person’s choice to not wear a mask has been shown to significantly decrease the freedom of others. How so? Well, you can’t make many choices when you’re dead. Such is the case with my spry grandpa who passed away last year since someone exercised their “freedom” and didn’t keep to our state’s regulations.

The general point here is that when one person’s choice has a high enough probability of significantly altering someone else’s freedom and opportunities, then laws should step in to mitigate the situation. We need a better understanding of freedom if we are to thrive as a nation.

Side note: All that being said, over-regulation is also harmful. It adds administrative burdens and slows economic growth. There are many regulations and statutes in place that have a net negative effect on freedom that need to be done away with.

Why Value Freedom?

It is worth asking whether we humans can reach our full potential and happiness without freedom. Certainly if one is locked in prison, they cannot reach their full potential and happiness. But what about a world of continued misinformation, cognitive bias, or the perception of freedom and choices when they don’t actually exist? People in all nations experience this to some degree — and some nations much more than others — so are they not able to reach their full potential or happiness?

I would argue yes.

At an individual level, no one likes being manipulated or fed misinformation. We want to trust that we are living to our true selves and are acting on accurate information. We may be happy even when we falsely believe we are acting on accurate information, but we cannot reach our full potential when truth and optionality are withheld from us.

At a societal level, progression can only occur as the number and quality of opportunities available to people increases; that progression will lead to people living better, happier, more productive lives.

So yes, I think freedom in its pure form is something we should try to maximize. Because when we are acting on accurate information in unbiased ways, we will be able to reach our full potential and happiness.