How can more choices be less freedom?
December 16, 2008
Jiacui Li
Dr. Hélène Landemore
POLS0820D: Freedom
15 December 2008
Do more choices mean more freedom? Usually, the answer is yes. When eating at a restaurant, we hope for more alternatives on the menu. When registering courses for next semester, we hope for more choices offered, so there can be a better chance of finding the right fits for us. However, I will argue that simply having more alternatives in decision making does not necessarily mean more freedom.
The Costs of Suppressing Free Thought
December 4, 2008
Qian Yin
Dr. Hélène Landemore
POLS0820D: Freedom
7 November 2008
Thoughts are powerful. Individuals act upon their opinions; countries are designed according to political theories – thoughts shape the world. Theoretically, if we can all be guided by truths and abstain from the damage that a blinded opinion does to both the society and our mental well being, we would all be better off. Consequently some people think that thoughts should be controlled; by prohibiting the false opinions and protecting the true ones, we live a better life. John Stuart Mill does not agree, evidenced by his claim that “suppressing free thought often hurts the suppressors more than the suppressed”. It is not possible to accurately measure whether the suppressor or the suppressed is more severely hurt, but Mill’s argument shows that the negative effect of suppressing free thought is so great to the suppressor that it does the opposite of fulfilling the suppressor’s primary goal – it does not promote the truths, and also impairs the suppressor’s mental well being.
