Choosing Freedom

 In the current global environment, it has become more and more prominent to see the association between supporting or “choosing” one’s government as a signal of their showing of freedom. We see all the time, individuals voting themselves essentially into submission of what is and exists. But Friedrich Hayek was able to see right through this. You see, F.A. Hayek believed that “Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one’s government is not necessarily to secure freedom.” (Hayek, The Meaning of Liberty Page 3). I tend to agree with Hayek regarding this particular issue.

            One of the primary arguments made by Hayek here, is that securing freedom is undeniably more difficult than we have been perceiving to this point. There are so many unforeseen or simply not thought about ways in which our freedom is manipulated or lost. For example, Hayek believes it “would also be absurd to argue that young people who are just entering into active life are free because they have given their consent to the social order into which they were born: asocial order to  which  they  probably  know  no  alternative  and which  even  a  whole  generation  who  thought differently from their parents could alter only after they had reached mature age” (Hayek, The Meaning of Liberty Page 3).  This is to say that the common perception we feel in society; of hitting a certain age gaining “freedom” and becoming more individualistic has actually been a fallacy the whole time. This intrinsic sense of freedom and relief we tend to feel, almost as a coming of age moment is in actuality just the occurrence of a preconceived notion of our society. There is no reason of our own to be celebrating the acquisition of “freedom” at age 18, instead our society engrains in us that certain ages determine the true moment of acquisition of false freedom.

            The ultimate purpose of making a point like this is to point out that there is inherit danger associated with identifying liberty with the process of active participation in public power and public lawmaking. “The danger of confusion here is that this use tends to obscure the fact that a person may vote or contract himself into slavery and thus consent to give up freedom in the original sense. (Hayek, The Meaning of Liberty Page 3). Thus this false “freedom” we feel we acquire through age is further disproven through the reality that our freedoms can be sacrificed and gotten rid of through decision of our own should we chose to do so.

            Ultimately, Hayek understands that aligning one’s self with one’s government is in reality, not to necessarily to secure freedom. Ultimately, freedom in many senses is just an individual attempt to alter their own reality in some meaningful way to their liking. What we can gather from this idea is that freedom can be a fleeting thought when viewed through the lens that alignment with one’s government is to secure freedom. Ultimately, freedom must be viewed as a an asocial order to which new generations know no alternative.