> The more restrictions on individuals, the less free a society is.
I think this is a fallacy. Freedom, when defined this way (taken to its extreme), is not desirable for society as a whole. It only helps the wealthy and powerful and works against the poor.
If you are poor or indebted, you are not really free, even if there are no individual restrictions. People in need will probably be inclined to "freely" take out loans, giving up their freedom. Wealthy people may want to keep a good portion of society in need so they'll always be "freely" working for them.
Having to work full time for a salary to live a middle class life feels like unbounded indentured servitude sometimes. We have significant benefits over historical indentured servitude but the freedom is still lacking. 40+ hours of my week, including prime creative hours, for potentially 45+ years of my life are given to my employer so I can live in a decent house, buy healthy food, pay for my family's needs, travel once or twice a year, etc. I am giving up time/energy I'd rather give to my family and creating art/innovative technologies from the thousands visions and ideas I have every year. My situation, though far from unique, is one I've gotten myself into. Getting out now requires me to put my personal desires aside for many years, maybe decades, while working to become wealthy enough to hopefully enjoy true freedom while I am still young and energetic. Who knows if that will pan out. The alternatives are lower pay, more "free" time, or intermittent bursts of high pay/free time. Neither of those are freedom (fiscal autonomy) in my mind, only an illusion of it. I could talk about this all day but I'll stop there...
I think this is a fallacy. Freedom, when defined this way (taken to its extreme), is not desirable for society as a whole. It only helps the wealthy and powerful and works against the poor.
If you are poor or indebted, you are not really free, even if there are no individual restrictions. People in need will probably be inclined to "freely" take out loans, giving up their freedom. Wealthy people may want to keep a good portion of society in need so they'll always be "freely" working for them.