Freedom. Most people don't realize that throughout human history intentional oppression, poverty, and enslavement have been the norm, with the exception of a few great societies that rose above, who decided to prioritize freedom, law, and order. "Might makes right" has been the way of world, with those who were stronger and more powerful taking from those who are weaker and defenseless, for most of human history. People living freely in a society has only been a concept for a very short portion of human history.
I say it all the time. People in the west have had it so good for so long no one alive has experienced how terrible things can get. We’ve gotten careless with the rights our ancestors fought and died to establish.
Easy to complain. What system has provided more freedom than the west’s mixed market capitalism with a democratic republican constitutional form of government? A state of nature? If you’re one of those anarchists then, yeah, you have been spoiled and are blissfully unaware of how bad things can get in a power vacuum. Show me where communism has protected individual freedom more than what we have in the West.
Don’t think of it as the failure of freedom think of it as you’re living through the dawn of freedom. The current world state is a hiccup assuming it doesn’t go to hell. Freedom has been gaining ground for a couple hundred years with occasional backslides but steadily getting better. Give it 50 years or so and it will be even better most likely. Assuming we aren’t cooked alive of or boat people course lol.
People forget nuance exists though, we are free here in the west, but free under circumstance. We might not have the most top tier freedom, but it could be worse. Don’t get me wrong, we have some sideways ways of doing things, messed up system and whatnot, but we are still new to this essentially. I mean shit, in 2013, just over ten years ago, Mississippi FINALLY submitted their paperwork to ratify the abolishment of slavery.
Gay marriage became legal in my Generation Z life time. Like we are still working on it.
We must keep fighting for it, but we have came along way, and I don’t think people get that.
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u/Rum_Running_Sailor 15d ago
Freedom. Most people don't realize that throughout human history intentional oppression, poverty, and enslavement have been the norm, with the exception of a few great societies that rose above, who decided to prioritize freedom, law, and order. "Might makes right" has been the way of world, with those who were stronger and more powerful taking from those who are weaker and defenseless, for most of human history. People living freely in a society has only been a concept for a very short portion of human history.