In English, “freedom” is a word often used to describe the literal or mental state of being free, free from worry or utilizing your right to free expression. I do not feel that this particular use of the word properly exalts the deeper meaning of the concept itself.
There is a term in Greek, “eleutheria,” which describes the feeling of fulfillment. It is a more soulful freedom that conveys a sense of personal growth and spiritual happiness. It is more than just the independence that one experiences when they make a decision – it is metaphysical. I feel that we frequently forget about this true and pure concept of freedom, because we’re constantly bombarded with the more verbatim understanding of the word.
So then, this calls into question the suffering and dissatisfaction that is prevalent in the lower classes of American society. Certainly, those people who are unable to work for a living wage or those who are homeless are not necessarily experiencing a fulfilling life. Does this then mean that they are not truly free? Of course, some would say that they are because they’ve made their own choices and have come to a point in life that has been a product of their own free will.
However, I would make the opposite claim. I would say that things like homelessness and poverty are not solely the result of one’s personal decisions, but that it also stems from the social and environmental preconditions that have been placed upon them even before birth and the repercussions of a culture that ignores the troubles of those at the bottom. In other words, their freedom has been taken away from them.
This is a difficult concept to swallow because this line of thought assumes that liberty is just a social construct and not something that we inherently have. Obviously we are all born with a certain objective sort of freedom, but the level of freedom is determined by where and when you are born (not to mention sex, ethnicity, religion, and so on). In a sense some people are more free than others.
Currently, we live in a culture that operates under competition and profit, which is an archetype that will always lead to the marginalization of certain groups. The solution then, I believe, is to reorganize and restructure our entire socio-economic model to reflect a society that values things like community and happiness above selfishness and consumption. Once we have eliminated the mechanisms that undermine and exploit the people, we will have a much truer understanding of freedom and liberty; and we will have much happier lives for it.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his Second Inaugural Address, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
