> Freedom isn’t freedom from all consequence: it’s freedom from state mandated consequence. It’s the ability to say what you want and not lose any of your rights as a result.
A classic libertarian error. To me, freedom is freedom from social coercion whoever it is from. People are free to a greater or lesser extent within relationships, within families, within communities, within economies and within non-state organizations.
There is nothing special about the state in this regard.
The context is America's constitution, in which case it specifically is freedom from state mandated consequences.
there is a worry that his stepping down represents a degradation of his right to Free Speech, as enshrined in his country’s constitution.
Under that context, the article is spot on. If you widen the sorts of freedoms your talking about, as I think some of the people were when talking about this situation, then it all becomes a big tangled mess. If you give one person freedom, you're taking it away from someone else.
It is perhaps a worthwhile discussion to have, but it's still important to note that specifically the American constitution doesn't protect you from people telling you you're being a bellend.
It certainly does, when that telling gets to the point of harassment, mobbing, or creating a hostile working environment, as it did in the case of Eich.
History will judge Eich just fine. He's a great technologist, and the Open Web owes a huge debt to him. He's probably done more for equality and inclusiveness than anyone who protested his appointment.
That's the real tradgedy here: the world, and Mozilla, lost a great ally (for now.)
A classic libertarian error. To me, freedom is freedom from social coercion whoever it is from. People are free to a greater or lesser extent within relationships, within families, within communities, within economies and within non-state organizations.
There is nothing special about the state in this regard.