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

[richardhutnik]

sapphi_snake said:

richardhutnik said:

Freedom and other political and economic concepts are mental constructs people use to understand and manage the world they live in.  It is a way to organize data they receive from the world.  So, in light of this, one approach to understand what people want is to provide a theoretical ideal state that would map to this, and see if it is what people are really after.  The impossible makes the ideals more clear in this context.

I would say, in light of this, if enough people were given stuff to placate their appetites and desires, in ways they didn't find personally destructive, a state could be one that could ultimately end up oppressive, and people wouldn't know it or care to know.  And in this, that is what I was asking about, if it really is freedom people value or merely the placating of appetites and desires. 

Next up, an analysis of Brave New World.

You should read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

I mention it, because, while I haven't actually read, it, I did read analysis of it, and other dystopian works.  And then the book popped into my head when I was writing that.  If it counts, I did see "Demolition Man" which is loosely based on Brave New World.  The rant by Friendly at the end was awesome.