The fear of freedom

Seth Godin highlights The fear of freedom.

We live in an extraordinary moment, with countless degrees of freedom. The instant and effortless connection to a billion people changes everything, but instead, we're paralyzed with fear, a fear so widespread that you might not even notice it.

We have more choices, more options and more resources than any generation, ever.

At present, this subjective freedom is only available for those with the objective reality of sufficient cash.

But it does highlight the mental contraints that workers operate under. We have our freedom of action severely circumscribed at work through regulations, policies, fiats, decrees, etc. We cannot make a move without consulting our managers and they, in turn, consulting their managers, ad finitum.

As we enter a Communist society, we are going to face this fear of freedom. It was the same fear that slaves faced after emancipation. “How do we fend for ourselves?” Our minds have been crippled by this dependency on the bosses for making decisions that rightfully should have been ours.

It is the private ownership of the means of production that gives the bosses the legal and moral to make these decisions. Take these means of production into our own hands, and we take responsibility for our lives through making decisions and living with our mistakes.

It is only then that we can grow as human beings with full adult responsibility in our lives, instead of being cowering children asking for some more.