What is Freedom

thadeus · Jun 13, 2011

Ronny said: ↑

It's naive to think in a free market there won't be winners at the expense of losers.
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It's naive to believe we have a free market, and it's even more naive to believe that success or failure in the "free market" is a real indication of a person's natural talents/capacity/etc.,.

So, Ronny, how much freedom do you have?

thegary · Jun 13, 2011

freedom is just chaos with better lighting.

tallanvor · Jun 13, 2011

George Mason University recently conducted a study of which states offer the most freedom

New Hampshire - 1
South Dakota - 2
Texas - 14
California - 48
New Jersey - 49
New York - 50

Here is how they defined freedom:

We explicitly ground our conception of freedom on an individual-rights framework. In our view, individuals should be allowed to dispose of their lives, liberties, and properties as they see fit, as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others.
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Here is their analysis of Texas:

Texas prides itself on being a freedom-loving state, and our rankings bear out that it is freer than most other states. However, its policies are sometimes not as consistent with individual liberty as the rhetoric of its officials and citizens would suggest. Indeed, Texas has slipped in the rankings and has much room for improvement. Texas enjoys one of the lowest tax burdens in the country and state spending is relatively low. Gun control is better than average, but the state falls short on open-carry laws, stricter-than-federal minimum age for purchase rules, and dealer licensing. Alcohol is less regulated than in most other states (although localities can interfere extensively in this realm), and beer, wine, and liquor taxes are low. Low-level mar1juana cultivation is a misdemeanor, but otherwise mar1juana laws are very harsh. Its lifetime maximum possible sentence for a single mar1juana offense is draconian. Even more so than Tennessee, Texas is much less interested in arresting people for victimless crimes, excluding drugs, than its peers, but is much more eager than others to make drug arrests. Texas does not authorize sobriety checkpoints and has relatively light restrictions on motorist freedoms. Private and homeschools are almost completely unregulated. However, the state would benefit greatly from complete school choice. Labor laws are generally good, except for a prevailing-wage law. Texas is the only state not to require employers to contribute to workers’-compensation coverage. While Texas has only light community rating, it has imposed mandated coverages on health insurance that add significantly to the cost of insurance premiums. Texas is one of the leaders in telecom and cable “deregulation.” Unfortunately, eminent domain has not been extensively reformed. The state’s asset-forfeiture laws and liability system are both worse than average. In terms of the latter, ending the election of judges would probably help. Texas has higher than average cigarette taxes but slightly less restrictive smoking bans than many other states.
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Major · Jun 13, 2011

thadeus said: ↑

Think about the things you would love to do, but can't - then think about the reasons you can't. Who or what is preventing you from doing so?
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I think you're mixing and merging freedom and rights. You have the freedom to build a moon colony. The only thing stopping you is having the resources - but no one is obligated to give you those resources: it's up to you to accumulate them, and you do have the freedom to try to do that.

Do you consider that a limitation on your freedom?

Rocket River · Jun 13, 2011

Major said: ↑

I think you're mixing and merging freedom and rights. You have the freedom to build a moon colony. The only thing stopping you is having the resources - but no one is obligated to give you those resources: it's up to you to accumulate them, and you do have the freedom to try to do that.

Do you consider that a limitation on your freedom?
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I think you have the Freedom to build the moon colony
IF you got the resources
then the limits in your freedom comes from
1. rival businesses
2. politics [taxes and licenses to build moon colonies etc]

1. is to be expected and as you say cannot be helped.
2. is where it gets tricky . . .esp if you have to grease palms and offer kick backs for licenses.

Rocket River

surrender · Jun 13, 2011

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