The false friends of freedom

#298

My Dear Friend of Democracy,

Freedom is a precious asset. All political movements demand that people should be allowed and be able to follow their will and their wishes. The only argument is about how this goal is achieved. With more or less of a welfare state. With different limits to freedom of expression. With more or less duties that the state demands from people despite all their freedoms, for example, to pay taxes.

If everyone wants freedom, is there a need for restrictions on freedom?

Yes, there is.

The search for these limits is so important because those who regularly call most loudly for freedom are those who seek to destroy it; they are those who, when they have become so powerful that they no longer need to give up their power, will restrict the freedom of others in order to cement their own power.

So, it only sounds absurd at first glance that to protect freedom, freedom must be limited.

But what are these limits?

First, let's look at a less controversial area: the economy. There, freedom is regularly curtailed to prevent monopolies. Companies suspected of being the sole providers of products or services are forced to change their offerings so that competition has a chance. Sometimes, even parts of the company have to be sold.

How this is enforced is regulated by the state; in my home country, Germany, for example, in the Act against Restraints of Competition introduced in 1957 at the instigation of the then Minister of Economics, Ludwig Erhard – incidentally against the will of the economically powerful at the time, gathered in the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

Why are monopolies being tackled so harshly? Because so many people strive for it. Because whoever becomes a monopolist gets rich. Then prices rise, and with them, the monopolist’s revenues - and at the same time, quality drops. At the expense of the customers.

Back to politics. There, the consequences of monopolies are even more serious. The worst-case scenario is a one-party state or a sole ruler who can no longer be voted out. To prevent this, freedoms are curtailed. Terms of office are limited, powers are distributed among institutions, and information monopolies are fought.

Freedom dies when freedom becomes limitless. That is why it must be regulated. Not only where one person's freedom limits that of another but also where freedom leads to the concentration of power.

✊ The powerful have always resisted this restriction of freedom. They fear for their power. They are right to fear. Limiting freedom serves precisely this purpose. To limit their power. That is why Elon Musk calls for freedom so loudly on every digital corner. That is why the extremist far-right German party Alternative für Deutschland, short AfD, writes it on election posters. They call for freedom because they want unlimited freedom - for themselves. And that is why it must be restricted. That is why social media portals like X, TikTok and Facebook need rules of conduct, such as fact checks. That is why Donald Trump's arbitrariness in imposing tariffs at will is not freedom; it is precisely that: arbitrariness.

Freedom needs rules so that freedom does not die.

See you in Democracy,

Johannes