damion75 0 #1 June 5, 2004 I heard the phrase on a radio today, but obviously I have heard the 'Free world' referred to many times before as I am sure we all have. Obivously I know what it is intended to mean: That part of the world not ruled by despots, unelected leaders or Communists () but thinking through it more deeply leads me into two trains of thought: 1. In a free world, everyone gets to do what they want. Some people lust after power and that is what they want, but they can only get it at the expense of the freedom of others. The needs and desires of people in the world are often diametrically opposed so not everyone can have what they want. No real surprises there. 2. In my other train of thought, the ultimate freedom (as I am sure any Texans on here will agree!) is the abnegation of the rule of law. Which is anarchy. In a state of anarchy, it is possible for the strong to take what they want from the weak and there is thus less of a stimulus to produce, since it can be so easily taken away. A nation or world which is not producing anything will end up in a permanent state of war or Mad Max style anarchy as people fight to survive. This will lead to a population drop as people die. So Freedom requires death... I'm sorry I cannot / do not want to link this thread to Iraq, but then it will all just get heated and irrelevant! Anyway, I don't think a Free World is possible, or something that we should want... Thoughts please?*************** Not one shred of evidence supports the theory that life is serious - look at the platypus. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #2 June 5, 2004 Free World doesn't mean free to do anything. It means individual liberties are protected when they don't infringe on the liberties of others. That ideal is rarely if ever realised either, but the other part of it is that everyone has a say in what the rules are to try and reach that ideal, whether through direct democratic election, or through elected representatives. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WrongWay 0 #3 June 5, 2004 Do we want "true freedom"? Of course we do, but here's the problem. Let's just say we did away with the government, and all those guys were out of the picture. Now you have anarchy. So through anarchy, true freedom is achieved, and it now goes back to nature in a "survival of the fittest" match. The strong kill the weak, for whatever reason. Now the weak people's freedom to LIVE is taken away. So when you think about it, does anarchy truly provide freedom, or does it simply create more pain and oppression than a governed society? Either way, with government or without, we can't have a Utopian society. Chaos is more interesting and requires more imagination to comprehend than order. A perfect world to the primitive human mind is boring. Therefore the idea of a perfect world is unacceptable to any individual, let alone to the masses. Wrong Way D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451 The wiser wolf prevails. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
