this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2025
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The dichotomy of “freedom to” and “freedom from” is pretty well-worn territory in philosophy, although there are many different formulations of it (including options beyond just these two), but the simplest model is this:
“Freedom to”: The protected right to do something, like fire a gun in the air.
“Freedom from”: The enforced guarantee that you will not be impacted by the actions of others, like your neighbor’s falling bullets.
An egalitarian society can’t grant “freedom to” all actions to all people while also guaranteeing them “freedom from” the consequences of all others’ actions.
If I have the freedom to drive a monster truck on any public motorway, I necessarily lose the freedom to walk those streets without worrying about monster trucks.
The only way around it is to have a privileged class that has extra “freedom to” do things when the consequences mainly impact the underclass, and extra “freedom from” the actions of the underclass.
Like, most states allow you the “freedom to” openly carry a firearm, but also employ police to protect your “freedom from” people being an immediate threat to your life.
In theory, you can’t have both. So in practice, this means that only white people get to openly carry guns. Black people get disarmed or shot.
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That said, I’d disagree that labor freedom reduces economic security in general, but if you got more specific I’m sure there are some instances where that’s true.
Just specifically don’t take an employer’s word when they say “if you unionize we can’t protect you anymore”.
Very interesting what you say about "Freedom to" and "Freedom from", it makes me clearer about many things.
Well, when I said "Labor Freedom" I was referring more to freelance work, but it is true that with a good union it is possible to achieve more freedom in salaried jobs, I had not thought about it, thanks.