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This post might piss off some people but I’ve been thinking about it a lot and it’s bothering me too much not to share it. People say that the cost of freedom is constant diligence. Whether that’s fighting for it politically, through lawyers, or avoiding tyrants through loopholes and sly roundabout ways. But the thing is that these are all still costs. You’re paying with time, resources, and/or effort. You are paying for freedom! I don’t see how paying for freedom this way differs from paying for freedom through taxes. The costs are significantly different but you are still paying. I am not a statist by any means. I don’t believe in democracy, the constitution, or any form of compulsorily and violently organized society. History has shown us these things all fail to preserve freedom. I am now starting to think that freedom is an illusion. If you have to pay taxes to be free from violent men with guns, then you are not free. Similarly, if you have to constantly fight off corrupt grifters in the political world you are also not free. If you have to maintain constant awareness of new laws and loopholes to avoid prosecution, you are not free. The real difference is in the cost being paid and the cost doesn’t have to be financial. Sometimes the costs are massive like 40% taxes. Sometimes the costs are time and effort. The cost can be smaller, but you still incur a cost. And the cost never ends. “Freedom isn’t free.” You don’t gain freedom and then enjoy it for the rest of your life. You have to constantly defend that freedom and that is a cost (directly or indirectly). Do free people pay for freedom? I don’t think so which is why I’m starting to think that freedom is an illusion. You are never really free if you have to maintain constant diligence forever. Free men are not constantly looking over their shoulders.

Freedom seems more like an emotional state to me. You can be free today but that can change tomorrow just like you can be happy right now and sad the next day. What do you think? Respectfully share your thoughts with me. I value freedom and it’s something that I want for everyone but we might be thinking of it the wrong way. I’m open to changing my mind. Oh and fuck the state.

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Discussion

🇰 🇷 🇾 🇵 🇹 🇮 🇽 9mo ago

Only, for some, mind is free.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

The greatest roadblock to freedom is the mind.

Hodl Harry 9mo ago

There always a cost to everything.

Idk why this would piss people off..

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

There are a lot of “murica is the land of the free” people on nostr. I’ve triggered a lot of people by simply saying that the constitution is a piece of paper that can’t limit government 🤷‍♂️

Hodl Harry 9mo ago

Yeah, their indoctrination and feeling of patriotism is unreal with some people..

BTC_P2P 9mo ago

Objectively, nobody is free. Striving to be more free is a goal that people who realize they’re not free pursue.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

Literally everything has a cost. Even if you got food for free, you still have to expend effort to fucking chew it 😂

BTC_P2P 9mo ago

Exactly. The currency of nature is calories - where creatures have to do economic calculation with calories to determine what’s worth an expenditure and what’s not.

I prefer to expend time / money / energy on getting more free. Probably because I hate the idea of being lorded over by corrupt and incompetent losers. So I do what I want and take the risks and pay the costs associated with that way of life.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

Great points! Paying a 3% tax may not be freedom but it’s certainly still cheaper than declaring war against the country’s government. Seems like the battle is always this push-pull between government and citizens.

Comte de Sats Germain 9mo ago

These are worthwhile thoughts. That's the economics of freedom - whatever freedom costs is the amount the parasites can steal without being challenged.

But freedom itself isn't an illusion, IMO. Its like willpower - everyone thinks they have it, but almost no one ever tests it and proves it. Willpower and freedom both only grow when you choose to do the difficult thing.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

I guess the main point is that paying for freedom feels like something a slave would do. We always have to pay for freedom even if it’s not with money. The founding fathers paid for it through literal war. Countless people had to die. That’s the cost they paid to be free. But if you have to pay to be free and continuously pay to remain free, then I don’t believe that is actually freedom. It just seems like an oxymoron.

Comte de Sats Germain 9mo ago

There are plenty of cracks in the system. My favorite one is what I call, "the subtle art of saying okay but then doing wgsteger I want."

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

Hahaha that’s a powerful one although the cost is your pride in a way. But ehhh if it gets you to leave me alone 🤷‍♂️😂

Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why? 9mo ago

Freedom is not free, and no one is 100% free until all people respect property rights. This is an unobtainable ideal, but still worth striving for. So we must find ways to maximize our freedom at the lowest cost, while respecting the propertyrights of others. Self-rule, education, and self-defense tech are the way.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

I really think that freedom is like happiness. You have to constantly work toward it or risk losing it. You may stumble at times but you can always get back up and get on track.

stache 9mo ago

It’s like I tell ol Bobby McGee, “freedom’s just another word for nothin left to lose”🤔

Sarah⚡️ 9mo ago

I went over this with myself a while ago and realized that I do in fact pay for all my freedoms $$$ and the ability to enjoy them longer , it really is Grim and once you see it , you can’t unsee it , as a simple exemple the freedom of lifestyle movement , I spend a lot $$ to exercise it by ensuring my physical safety , we’re not shackled like slaves we’re billed $$ and the cost is life long

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

I have been seriously planning to live as a digital nomad to save on taxes. But the cost is that I leave my friends and family for a significant portion of the year. That’s the price to pay to keep my income.

Jonathan 9mo ago

freedom takes constant work, which is why people choose the comfort of dependence instead. Fuck the state who exploits that dependence, but not because paying for security is bad (glad to pay the cost of bitcoin security and other privacy services) but because forcefully paying for false protection doesn't work. The people are capable of self funding a quality security force without compulsion. The current model of governance just sucks at everything because of incentives and theft.

I can see governance under a bitcoin standard being very different. Free individuals who are willing to pay the price for their freedom collectively paying the cost of defense both domestically and internationally, but like the bitcoin network, there will always be a cost for freedom/security/privacy.

MAHDOOD 9mo ago

That’s the beautiful thing about Bitcoin. It reduces the costs associated with freedom.

Jonathan 9mo ago

Beautiful indeed 🥹