----- Original Message ----- From: "Miles Jackson" <cqmv at pdx.edu>
On 03/16/2011 08:55 PM, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
> The search and realization of freedom is the deepest call to human kind.
I know this is a commonly-held sentiment, but the more I think about it, the more I question this kind of valorization of freedom. In practice, in our society, freedom consists of--the choice to purchase commodities and sell your labor power. Is there some deeper, universal call for the realization of freedom? I have no idea. I do know that the primary social effect of this rhetoric of freedom is to justify existing social inequalities by implying that our social structures are simply the result of the free choices of individuals. To put it crudely: "Everyone is free to succeed in our society, so if you're poor, it's your own damn fault." ---------------------------
We're speaking different languages. What on earth has freedom to do with success? What does freedom have to do with choice?
In practice, in our society, there is no freedom.
Joanna