20100113

checkinginwithanaphorism

The word 'freedom' is robbed of all meaning when it is used to refer to private dominion.

2 comments:

Sra said...

What do you mean by that? You mean there is no freedom in a private context? I'm not sure I would agree if that's the case.

Zac said...

Sra, I'll have to consider your words. Mine were something I spat out at someone on the trib boards, though I'd been composing them in my head for some time, and I figured to preserve them here and put a little bit of life in this thing.

It's part of a broader thing I'm interested in, an attack on what I think of as the language of conservatism. Very often in conservative writing the usage of "freedom" is tied to the concept of a private sphere over which one has exclusive control (even if it happens to include or overlap with the lives of others).

This ties in with the theory bit of positive versus negative freedom.

Re: gain and speed
I think I get what you're saying, but it seems tangential to the point as I see it. There's actually not sufficient justification that greater efficiency is always to be prioritized.

Also, while people respond to stimulus, a greater reward than others is not the only or best reason to strive, and greater power over others is a morally destructive reason to strive. Pride and joy in a work (as in German werk, deed) moves many people to greater striving, as much as simple monetary.

But this comment is already too long for me to go further and deeper into that, and my thoughts on the matter require some refinement as well.

 
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