Isn't freedom merely shorthand way of saying "getting what you want"?

[GameOver22]

richardhutnik said:

TRios_Zen said:

I think your view of freedom might be a little narrow...  Just my experience now, but I know a bunch of folks who are happy living within the framework of an equitably governed society with reasonable laws and mores, and just want the freedom to suceed within those rules.  Of course, we are all reasonably successful, so that makes it easier.

Personally, I still think Texas should succeed from the union...

HAHA!

Well, you can take what I say to be that I don't think as many people want freedom as they have stated.  I think people more likely want the world to conform to their wishes, rather than have "freedom".  Merely giving a person "freedom" under a legal system does nothing to insure they have the ability to use that freedom to do anything they want.

Its hard to see how someone can get what they want if they do not have freedom. I would say that freedom is a foundational belief (this is what the Founders meant when they said that liberty was self-evident), and the claim that people wish to do what they want can be derived from this freedom. Freedom is simply necessary for someone to do what they want. Point being, if someone wants to do whatever they want, they are implicitly claiming that they want freedom.

As other users have posted, freedom does not mean absolute freedom as there are legal constraints. Freedom does not mean people can do whatever they want without facing the consequences of their actions.