Freedom from Freedom?

[Hegel]

When it comes to political rights, what if someone wants to be free from freedom? In otherwords what should a government do with someone or a group of someones who don't want to be free, and want someone else to make all their decisions for them? Should the government take away their freedom, or oppress them by forcing them to be free?

[fhios]

Being "free from freedom" is only a play on words. Your using free the first time to mean "rid off," not "at liberty."

And, well, yes, someone can do that. They just have to get themselves declared insane, or put themselves in a mental ward. Of course, rather than being at liberty, you are instead at the mercy of god-knows-who to get your next meal.

[reprise]

It isn't that unusual for people who are unused to having the freedom to make their own decisions - or who don't want to have that responsibility - to abdicate their freedom either through institutionalisation of some kind or through delegating their legal rights to others as far as possible.

[Hegel]

Originally posted by fhios
Being "free from freedom" is only a play on words. Your using free the first time to mean "rid off," not "at liberty."


In a sense yes, but in another sense no. After all are you at liberty to not be at liberty. Quite frequently (at least in my limited understanding) after the fall of an absolute dictator, people generally don't know how to make the basic life decisions that we make day in and day out. It takes time to adjust from being told how to live every aspect of your life, to being told nothing. I'm sure that if you probed deep enough you'd find that there are a lot of people that feel the same way, that they would rather not have to make basic life decisions themselves. Hence the quality of many world religions that has them making decisions of how to life for their followers.

[shanek]

Originally posted by Hegel
When it comes to political rights, what if someone wants to be free from freedom?

Then they can use power of attorney to surrender their rights to others.

Hey, that was simple! The thread's over already! Shortest one yet... :D

[Suggestologist]

Originally posted by Hegel
When it comes to political rights, what if someone wants to be free from freedom? In otherwords what should a government do with someone or a group of someones who don't want to be free, and want someone else to make all their decisions for them? Should the government take away their freedom, or oppress them by forcing them to be free?

They're free to tie themselves up in the privacy of their own home.

[RCNelson]

Hegel:
When it comes to political rights, what if someone wants to be free from freedom? In otherwords what should a government do with someone or a group of someones who don't want to be free, and want someone else to make all their decisions for them?
There's no need for the government to take away the freedom - there are already plenty of religious cults that will do that job.

The problem is that once someone submits to their cult of choice, they usually want to make everyone else submit to their cult as well.

[Agammamon]

I would say that you don't have the right to be free from freedom. If its something you desire and can find someone willing to take control then its a privilege you can enjoy but to force someone to take that control would be an infringement on their freedom.