 |
It's finally happened.
Freedom has officially been declared Slavery. George Orwell was right, and we should have listened.
Freedom is slavery. I discovered the repeated use of this seldom mentioned philosophical axiom in a most unusual way. Over the past several months, it has been my somewhat dubious privilege to have addressed numerous government committees, panels, and forums of "public consensus."
After comparing notes, I became alarmed at how, in order to justify their own brand of political coercion, various politicians at every level of government have been fervently attempting to promote the Orwellian philosophy that freedom is slavery.
How do they do this? Simple.
Take, for example, the issue of Ontario's Sunday closing laws. Freedom of choice in Sunday shopping, so contemporary political logic goes, will "force" businesses to open on Sundays and will similarly "force" employees to work on Sundays, despite the fact that no one is holding a gun to anyone's head. (The logical extension of this fallacy is that consumers are being "forced" to go shopping! So who's "forcing" who?)
The argument continues that retailers who sign leases with malls or plazas stipulating hours of operation are being "forced" to open when they might not otherwise be open, despite the fact that these retailers have voluntarily signed contracts saying that they agree to this condition.
On the labour front, those who work for less than minimum wage, or who work for less than someone else performing a similar task, are said to be "exploited" by greedy employers, regardless of any personal and private voluntary agreements that may have created their relationships in the first place.
On the civil liberties front, we are told that freedom of expression "forces" people to unwillingly confront pornographic images when shopping in variety stores or while watching their TV sets at home, despite the fact that they can shop in other stores or turn their TV sets off.
And of course, we've all heard how markets unregulated by government will leave individuals prey to market "forces" --- the law of the jungle --- and without government intervention (i.e. control), our society would be reduced to an environment where "only the fittest survive", despite the fact that this has never happened in a free market environment.
On and on the arguments go, and they're all based on the philosophic premise that freedom is slavery.
I never really clearly understood why George Orwell insisted this philosophy was a necessary prerequisite to totalitarianism, but now I think I've learned part of the answer. By convincing a good percentage of the electorate (and themselves) that personal commitments and obligations represent conditions of coercion and force, our politicians have justified their use of true, arbitrary, non-objective, non-voluntary applications of state coercion--- all to "protect" us from the consequences and responsibilities of our own individual free choices.
But that's only half the story. The "freedom is slavery" premise is simply an attack against individual freedom. Where's the argument promoting state control?
Meet the other side of the "freedom is slavery" coin: Slavery is Freedom: "Just leave everything to us, and you'll be free!"
This is the philosophy that Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats alike are selling to the Canadian electorate. Short of outright war, I personally cannot imagine any single political action that could harm the social and economic fabric of any nation more.
"Free" medicine. "Free" education. "Free" daycare. "Affordable" housing. "Affordable" rental accomodations. "Universal" access. "Equal" access. "Fair" wages. "Equal" pay. "Guaranteed" pensions. "Cheaper" car insurance premiums. "No" health insurance premiums. "Protection" from business competition. "Protection" from labour competition. "Protection" from being offended. "Protection" of our "culture." "Guaranteed" jobs. Job "creation." "Affirmative" action. "Social" justice.
These are but a few of the kinds of very expensive and totally unworkable "freedoms" that our politicians have been selling us in return for our votes. It used to be considered unethical for politicians to bribe us with their own money. Today, it is acceptable practice for them to bribe us with our own money. And they even get away with selling us their political "products" without having to tell us the price.
Because the price is incredibly high. The average Ontarian pays more than half of his annual earnings to governments in the form of taxes alone. The debt of governments at every level is staggering, despite the size of the tax bite. Waiting lists are piling up for admissions to our "universally accessible" hospitals. Housing prices are at an all-time high. Rental vacancies are at an all-time low. Our health, pension, and education systems are all on an unsound economic footing and accumulating debt.
In Ontario, you can be treated like a criminal for opening your store on a Sunday. If you've got an apartment for rent, you have to justify your rates to a government committee --- not to your tenants. If you employ people, you must justify your wages to a government committee --- not to your employees. If you charge your customers "too much" for your product, the government could charge you with "price gouging." If you charge "too little" for your product, the government could charge you with "unfair competition." If you charge the same price as your competition, the government could charge you with "price fixing."
If you're unemployed or looking for a job, the government could prevent you from competing with any of the labour monopolies it has created. If you want to create your own job, the government could charge you for competing with any of the business monopolies it has created.
As if things weren't bad enough with governments compelling us how to act, they're even telling us how and what to think.
The degree of censorship and state control of communications in our society is reaching an intolerable crescendo. The powers of Ontario's censor board have been dramatically increased, the federal government is hell-bent on banning depictions of sexual activity or "violence" in the media, and the penalties incurred for disagreeing with certain political perspectives make it clear that independent thought is as much a crime in this province as independent action.
Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democrats alike believe that the purpose of government is to restrict our individual freedom of choice, not to protect it. The only difference between their parties is not over whether freedom of choice should be restricted, but whose choice should be restricted for whose benefit --- and lately, they even agree on that.
They benefit. We pay. And that's why the kind of "freedom" they're selling us is slavery.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Page
last updated on April 28, 2002
