Isaiah Berlin outlined two forms of freedom:
Negative Freedom → “Freedom from” external constraints. The ability to act without interference (e.g., no government oppression, no censorship).
Positive Freedom → “Freedom to” control one’s own destiny. The ability to self-govern, develop, and shape one’s life (e.g., education, participation in democracy).
Negative freedom is about removing barriers, while positive freedom is about empowerment and self-mastery. A balanced society needs both.
http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/Philosophers/Berlin/Berlin_twoconceptsofliberty.pdf
#bitcoin #freedom #philosophy
Today, the feeling of scarcity and constraint is rooted in the systems we’ve built—fiat systems that, while they have enabled unprecedented economic complexity and quality of life, have also allowed flawed men to impose their will upon others, distorting the natural balance of life. These systems have brought us heights of prosperity, yet they’ve also exposed us to the depths and depravity of human frailty—greed, power, and control.
For centuries, the cycles of history have shown a cyclical pattern of flourishing followed by exploitation, oppression, collapse, and rebirth. Now, however, we stand at a unique moment in history. The globalization of our socioeconomic infrastructure means that while oppressive forces can now operate on a planetary scale, so too can the forces of freedom and truth.
The scarcity we feel as a tide going out is the prelude to a great transformation. The coming flood will sweep away the corrupt edifices we’ve built, but it will also lay the groundwork for a return to a more natural state—a world where freedom and truth are no longer suppressed, but can flourish on a global, human scale.
In the end, just as the Great Flood cleansed the earth and brought a new dawn, this modern flood will pave the way for a new era of abundance—abundance in freedom, prosperity, and in the opportunity to transcend our history.
What does your minimum viable sovereign network consist of? What minimum resources and standards do you require to subsist happily and what do you imagine are the necessary exports and imports of your sovereign network?
The opportunity to live in peace and engage in free trade is not equally afforded due to monopolies, both geographic and currency-based, on economic networks and the general ignorance of what is technologically and subsequently sociologically possible (freer, more equitable, higher quality of living, more sustainable societies). Monopolies are anachronistic manifestations of fear based on a zero-sum world view.
Perhaps more interestingly, what are you willing to live without in order to increase overall freedom? The challenge here seems to be that some of our contemporary dependencies and preferences are built on long-standing monopolized and exploitative networks.
I just returned from a short family vacation at the edge of the grid, a mountain cabin just beyond cell service and a 40 minute drive to the nearest grocery store. We packed all our food in for about a week. We found rivers, natural springs, and large wild game. Arable land, forests, quarries. Cattle ranches, fish hatcheries. We neither hunted nor fished but observed the opportunity to acquire long lost knowledge of the land, build cooperative networks, and increase freedom.
We encountered a couple situations where it became abundantly clear we were well outside our current network of economic standards, yet the apparent increase in freedom was palpable and seemingly quite worth the apparent compromise in standards.
The basics seem simple: food, shelter, hygiene, healthcare, electricity, internet (enabling education, information economy, etc), transportation. Turns out however we are far more dependent and interconnected than we might realize. Modern supply chains are deceivingly complex. There are surely parts of the global socioeconomic infrastructure that cannot be simply or cleanly unwound.
We also observed instances of what some might describe as poverty, squalor. Made me wonder how that is measured. Poverty of standard of living or poverty of freedom? What is it that we really need in order to live a ‘good life’? To each their own, but all should have the freedom to choose and contribute.
The beauty of nature, friends, and family, and the pursuit of knowledge, freedom, and spirit seem to do it for me.