The concept of freedom from antiquity to modernity
The concept of “freedom” at a declarative level is one of the foundations of the modern world order. There is probably no country that has not declared its people free. And there is a grain of truth in this, since the concept of “freedom” is extremely multi-dimensional.
Historically, #freedom, in its ancient understanding, can be defined as “all will be free, and each one will have two slaves”. It sounds ironic and paradoxical, but this is the understanding (of course, in a modified form) that has become basic.
“Freedom, equality, brotherhood” isn’t it a beautiful slogan? Who can object to it? However, there is a small clarification: the author of this slogan is Maximilien Robespierre – one of the leaders of the French revolution, and it was under this slogan thousands of people were beheaded.
In a more modern form, the ancient ideals of freedom were formulated by Orwell in “Animal Farm” as follows – “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
It may seem that modern democracies have evolved into truly free societies, and applying Orwell’s definitions to them would be incorrect. The words “it may seem” are of fundamental importance here. Politicians, media, and even established public opinion convince us that freedom exists. Those who doubt the existence of freedom are often ostracized and thrown out of the information environment.
The best example is the restriction of free speech in the US, where social media blocks Trump by arguing that he says “wrong” things. In this case it doesn’t matter whether Trump is right or wrong, whether he is a villain or a hero, you can agree with him or hate him. In a free society, there is always a choice. The principle is that there are people who have taken on the right to decide what is “right” and what is “wrong”. That is, there are people who are “more equal” than Trump.
This example is by no means an accusation, but merely an illustration of the fact that Orwell’s definition is applicable to the present. In the Middle Ages, it was “wrong” to think of the earth as round, and the inquisitors who persecuted Galileo were sure of their actions, and public opinion was on their side. Today the criteria for correctness have changed, but the approaches to its assessment remained.
Restrictions of the modern world
In fact, absolute freedom is an unattainable ideal. It is hindered by the imperfection of human nature, which seeks to increase one’s own personal freedom at the expense of restricting the freedom of others. Perhaps in the distant and beautiful future, “the reasonable person” will evolve into “the perfect person”, and there will be an era of absolute freedom and universal welfare, but for now reality is much more severe.
Restrictions of freedom are present in all spheres of our lives.
Freedom of speech? It doesn’t go along with the censorship that exists in all countries. The interested parties can discuss this topic with Pavel Durov – in between interrogations with the French investigator.
Freedom of choice? Does anyone really think that in the US, a president is chosen from two of the best representatives of the American people? We will not even discuss the electoral specifics of China, Russia, North Korea.
Freedom of #business? It exists at the level of declarations. But if you look at the unimaginable number of different restrictions, trade barriers, laws and other problems, the declared freedom will be an illusion.
The modern #crypto business is a great example. Former CEO Binance Changpeng Zhao is in an American prison for acting on the instructions of the US Securities Commission with little enthusiasm.
Freedom of business is a unique phenomenon even in historical perspective. Restrictions have existed everywhere and always. One of the rare exceptions is the industrial revolution of the 19th century in the USA, when the development of the Wild West was underway, building railways, factories, banks. And it was at this time that America showed fantastic growth. Then the logic of the state took over, and restrictions followed, which were constantly tightened.
Today, freedom of business is becoming more and more declarative. Once again, we will give the example of the crypto business. The first time after the introduction of bitcoin, there was no government control over crypto enthusiasts. Free people in free digital space have created a trillion-dollar industry. And then the state made its move. The US Securities Commission (SEC) has become a tool for influencing the crypto world. As a result, almost every crypto company is considered a priori guilty of violating some arbitrarily established rules.
Meta and Holiverse: different concept of metaverses
Restrictions on crypto business are tightening at an accelerating pace. Paradoxically, even under administrative pressure, step by step a new space of freedom is created.
IT allowed us to implement the things that only recently looked unimaginable. If you are not satisfied with our reality, create yours!
Today, we can see metaverses which are not bound by laws and regulations. In fact, these are white sheets on which you can write anything. Do you want to build a totalitarian regime and appoint yourself as a great leader? No problem – do it, if you can find people who want to become your subjects. Do you want to create a #libertarian paradise? Technically it is possible, and certainly there will be many who want to get a taste of the full freedom.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has already spent billions of dollars to create a metaverse. Will Meta’s development be a space of freedom? Frankly, it’s questionable. Meta and Facebook are organically embedded in the world establishment and play by the rules. These rules include, for example, censorship and compliance with US law. Following the law is good in principle, but in this case, we are probably seeing a simple transfer of existing laws to the digital world. This is a position that you can take or not take.
The opposite ideology lies in Lado Okhotnikov’s #Holiverse. Here, freedom in the libertarian understanding is a basic value. Actually, the technology of the Polygon blockchain on which Holiverse is built excludes any manifestations of totalitarianism. Freedom does not exclude the strict execution of obligations – relationships between users are defined by smart contracts that cannot be changed or ignored. This is also an ideological position.
With the appearance of new metaverses, there will be a more contrasting attitude to users’ freedom. And that’s good – there should always be choices. Not all people are able to manage freedom and prefer certainty and clear regulation of life. Paradoxically, the possibility of non-free choice is also a necessary part of freedom of choice.
News by Businessnewsrelease.com
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