Are Americans really free, or are people in places like the UK freer?

Question

Americans seem to mostly be persuaded by the US government that they are not only freer than other nations, but also are defending freedom around the world. But does having a gun make you free? (The government can easily attack you and win any time it wants, if you have a gun or not...remember Waco?) Does having to pay income tax to the US government when you are living abroad make you free? Does having to register your name when you are 18 so you can be called up in the case of a draft make you free? Does living in a society with economic freedom, which is ruled by corporations, make you free? Some people might say that people in Western Europe or other parts of the world are actually freer than those living in the US. Some might say that being at the mercy of unbridled capitalism makes you a slave. Ok, so the US is the richest country in the world, but most of its workers get around half of the annual paid vacation that people in Western Europe get. Is that freedom?

Answer 1

No-One anywhere is truly free, we all have to work to earn money to pay taxes, even those of us that live in a democratic country are not truly free because all major decisions are made by those in power, we may be able to vote who gets the control of our country but they will decide what happens to it.

Answer 2

Well, one can define a person's freedom from 4 components:
(a) The law of the land. If chewing gum carries a prison sentence, you aren't free to chew it.
(b) Society. If the government allows you to chew gum, but your neighbours think that it's disgustingly immoral and throw stones through your windows, you aren't free to chew it.
(c) Market forces. If you may chew gum, but no one can or will sell it to you, or you can't afford it, you aren't free to chew it either.
(d) Technology. If no one in your reach knows how to make gum, well, you aren't free to chew it.

The US is obviously not the most liberal country on everything in (a). Western European law is much less restrictive about drugs and naked flesh, especially the Netherlands. Most countries have an earlier age of majority. No other western country has places with a permanent, routine curfew. Western Europe gives you a right to privacy viz. corporations and a large freedom to act against them. Hell, in Colombia or Somalia you can do anything you want, as long as you have an armed mob to back you up.
Some things are more free in the US, though, mostly relating to work matters, or privacy viz. the government and the control of it.

Society is difficult to judge, because it depends a lot on the place you live in. On a country-wide scale, though: freedom of religion is much *stronger* in Western Europe, especially the UK, France, and Germany, because people simply don't care about it. US society values money and status a lot more, while Europe has a much wider range of values. Avant-garde and edge activities and art are far less likely to provoke (successful) outrage from conservative organisations in Western Europe, and thus their ban or death through lack of funds.

Market forces means employment at will in the US, very restrictive system (and higher unemployment) in Europe. Europe has the right *not* to work - it is still possible to live on government money. Prices are cheaper in the US, the average salary higher. In the US, everything that can be sold legally will be sold. Extremely wide audiences push for a lowest-common denominator approach in mass media in the US, which may give you more or less choice depending on your tastes.

Technology is clearly more widely available in the US - not many things that have been invented cannot be found easily there, and the many inventions that come from the US spread to the rest of the world only later.


So, it's difficult to say what country is more free, because it depends a lot on what kind of freedom you seek. Do you want the freedom to become very powerful, and does the freedom to smoke drugs matter little? Do you want the freedom to buy porn without concerned citizens or government representatives looking at you funny, and do you not care that you won't get that pocket submarine just yet?

Americans are free, but so are many other countries, all in subtly different ways. Pick what you need...

Answer 3

No, modern politicians just use the word "freedom" to get more votes and a higher approval rating. What the forefathers meant by freedom was our country not having to pay taxes to a foriegn country and being able to govern ourselves. With all that said, people have tons of freedom in the United States. We don't pay nearly the amount of taxes that Western Europeans do and owning a gun is a great example of freedom. It's tough to compare yourself to a socialist society. I'd much rather live in the US than China, any country in Africa, Mexico or any country in South America.

Answer 4

I don't know what it is like to live in the USA (although I have been to New York on holiday), but here in the UK we are relatively free but the government is increasingly becoming more of a nanny state - telling us what we can and can't do instead of leaving us to it. A lot of constraints are theoretical - you know that if you do something illegal you will be (or should be) punished (or if you are an illegal immigrant in the UK, you are let off and given a medal), so you subconsciously abide by the law without really thinking about it. Is that freedom? I'd prefer to live in a democracy than in a dictatorship any day...

Answer 5

I think there is a certain limit set on freedom and that limit is decided by the government. The freedom also depends on what you want it for. If for example, you want to launch a new business venture or you've invented something it may be easier to do in the U.S. If you want freedom to exploit or kill people then you might want to reside in far eastern countries. That kind of freedom is very immoral but you are free to open sweatshops where children are employed to do slave labour, something you wouldn't have the freedom to do in the west. So freedom is relative and the limits are set by people who are running the show.

Answer 6

Previous answer is spot on. Freedom is a relative term and will always be restricted by the needs of the individual and of society.

Total freedom would be anarchy with no rule of law or restriction on excess and that would be a disaster. Society as we know it would collapse and although there are people out there who think that would be a good thing, 99% of the worlds population would not have a clue how to survive.

Answer 7

Freedom is an archaic reference to the way of life that early Americans escaped to after living under kings rule. They were not allowed to have a voice in government, worship the God of their choice or even to own land. As for today we are basically slaves to our establishment and many feel that we are in the same boat as we were 200 some years ago. I respect and admire our American armed forces but do not believe they are defending my freedoms. If they were they would be here protecting me from my own government.

Answer 8

Americans are completley controlled, they are not free because the majority of things they do are done because the American government told them to do it!
"freedom" is a useless word as nobody can ever be completley free, the word, when used in politics is only used for one reason- to brainwash the country into voting for that certain party!
Having guns does not mean your free, because the government still has better and more powerful weapons than you!
However the UK has no more freedom than the US because they are still governed by a PRAT!!!

Answer 9

I think Americans used to be more free before in history but not any more. In my opinion, Europe is the leader with respect for human rights and personal freedom. Also depends who do you consider Americans? Different Americans have different rights or at least that's how it looks like to me.

Answer 10

In America, our freedoms are not granted by government, but are God-given, and (in theory) are not able to be infringed by government.

However, with the advent of the ultra leftist neo-Democrat party, they have eroded our freedoms.

In the US, you are free to own guns and protect yourself from criminals.

With economic freedom, you are free to go as far as your ambition and talent allow. And most of America works at small businesses, not corporations. This freedom also accounts for all the discoveries, technological and medical advancements that come from US corporations.

Also with economic freedom and significantly lower taxes, we have low unemployment, unlike the welfare socialist states of Europe.

Personal responsibility is a good thing for humans. Cradle-to-grave nanny-statism is bad for the human spirit.

Answer 11

are you a liberal? probably. americans have all the freedom we want. you can leave if you dont like it. everything you is "is that freedom?" i ansewer yes too. how can the govornment regulate paid vacations? the thing about being "at the mercy of capitalism" is bull. we dont have a society with compleate economic freedom because that is impractical. you are free in america, and the UN needs to learn that they should help in the effort to end commie dictatorships like china. and to end other dictatorships too.the only good dictatorship is one in which i am the ruler, because i am cool