THE FREEDOM TRAP (RE-CONSIDERING SERIES)

Freedom or death!

So went the 20th-century war cry that set the background music for much of modern life. We’ve built our nations on it. We’ve built our lives on it. We’ve built our happiness on it — the idea that people can and must be free.

But now, there’s more on the menu: free from inconvenience, free from offence, free from limits. Free from anything that stands in the way of what I want.

Whether it’s choosing jam at the supermarket, choosing what to livestream on TV, or choosing a career, our modern battle cry is one of liberation and limitlessness. As the ancient Greek military general Thucydides declared, “The secret to happiness is freedom!”

Was he right? Or is there more to the story?

Could a life without limits limit us? What if freedom is a trap? And if it is, what do we do about it?