Is an overabundance of choice a threat to individual freedom?
From the magazine First Things:
"The first step is to ask liberalism’s perennial question: W'hat is the chief threat to individual freedom in our time?' The answer is no longer the despotic state, unfettered capital, or traditional norms and an over-regulated economy. It is rather the imperative, now lodged in most of our institutions and social norms, of perpetual choice and self-creation. This cultural consensus is paired with an ideological prohibition on economic policies that aim at anything other than efficiency and growth. In open liberalism, economic affairs are not to be constrained by classical political questions concerning the common good. In a real sense, open liberalism fulfills Rousseau’s call to force people to be free. It constrains them to not constrain themselves."
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2024/08/liberalisms-fourth-turning
MichaelJ
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2024-08-12 18:02:01
Author Public Key
npub1wqfzz2p880wq0tumuae9lfwyhs8uz35xd0kr34zrvrwyh3kvrzuskcqsynPublished at
2024-08-12 18:02:01Event JSON
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"content": "Is an overabundance of choice a threat to individual freedom?\n\nFrom the magazine First Things:\n\n\"The first step is to ask liberalism’s perennial question: W'hat is the chief threat to individual freedom in our time?' The answer is no longer the despotic state, unfettered capital, or traditional norms and an over-regulated economy. It is rather the imperative, now lodged in most of our institutions and social norms, of perpetual choice and self-creation. This cultural consensus is paired with an ideological prohibition on economic policies that aim at anything other than efficiency and growth. In open liberalism, economic affairs are not to be constrained by classical political questions concerning the common good. In a real sense, open liberalism fulfills Rousseau’s call to force people to be free. It constrains them to not constrain themselves.\"\n\nhttps://www.firstthings.com/article/2024/08/liberalisms-fourth-turning",
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