"Freedom without limit ends up enslaving, because the strong are free to prey on the weak."
But surely you can't limit freedom, otherwise the freedom isn't real? Not true. Freedom is not an all-or-nothing, but you can discern levels of freedom spread throughout human experience. And when we cheer for total freedom, we end up moving towards totalitarianism, because the strong will abuse their freedom in order to enslave.
The cry of the Left today has to be for moderation, not freedom, because all too easily the cries for Total Freedom can lure us towards dictatorship, giving us a similar fascism to the political and social result of the Right.
We do need freedom, and freedom should be encouraged, but it should be encouraged at the communal and (carefully) the individual level. But freedom should be restricted, and at times quite heavily restricted, at the corporate the governmental level. Just as we should not allow our government to fall into fascism, we also must stop abuses of power that the biggest corporations and most influential people now wield. We must stop our enslavement through advertisements and (parts of) the media. We must restrict their freedom, so that we have the freedom to live meaningful, healthy and free lives.
This excellent lecture (mp3) by Andrew Simms at LSE details changes we need to make to the global economic system and ways that we could make them. It is well worth the 90min listen (although a little slow to get started, but don't be put off) - highly recommended!
