Freedom of Socialism

Freedom is to be able to flourish as a human being and to cultivate one's talents or anything else one desires. People who are poor, hungry, homeless, and cannot afford to go to the doctor, let alone pursue education, do not have freedom according to the ideology of Socialism. Liberals, however, have tried to steal the concept of freedom and make it their own, talking about individual freedom and market freedom, but from the perspective that no one does anything unless they have the freedom to profit from it themselves. They are influenced by the economist and philosopher Adam Smith, who spoke of the invisible hand of the market that organized itself and that people adapted to each other due to the hope of gain. A famous quote by him is: „It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.“

Socialism views things differently. Socialism states that for society to be free and to mature and develop as a whole, the individual in society must have the freedom to mature and develop. Thus, freedom of will becomes real—a person's power over their own thoughts, values, and choices that is not based on indoctrination through media owned by the wealthy, advertisements, advertising campaigns funded by employers, and public relations agents working for the wealthy. Another aspect of freedom in Socialism is to be able to do what one wants without being subjected to coercion or violence by others, and thus have the scope to be able to choose.

In capitalist society, people seem to be greedy, think primarily of their own interests, and distrust others. It is strongly argued that these qualities are human nature. Humanity from the market's perspective revolves around consumers and competitors. In Socialism, humanity revolves around cooperation and brotherhood. Socialists say that human nature does not stand in the way of Socialism. Socialism is in all human beings but awaits the establishment of such a social order.

Freedom to flourish is achieved, among other things, by shortening working hours. Socialists place great emphasis on this. However, this could mean that much less of all kinds of things would be produced. But socialists do not see this as a tragedy. More things do not contribute to human growth and development; in fact, quite the opposite. When decent living conditions and sufficient free time have been secured, people gain the freedom to choose what they are interested in. Fewer iPhones in exchange for more freedom and free time are trades that appeal to socialists.

Socialism states that there is no freedom for wage earners in having to hand over all the profit generated by their labor to the capitalists. Employers, however, have the freedom to do with the profit as they wish; spend it on consumption, invest it, or even burn the money. In a socialist society, everyone gets a share of the profit. Accumulation of wealth at the expense of the masses is not part of the picture.

Democracy means that the public holds the power, not some limited group of people, not the rich or those who consider themselves more capable than others to wield power. Socialism places great emphasis on the freedom of the public to have a real impact on the society around them, the workplace, the trade union, the school, the neighborhood, the municipality, or the village.

When speaking of freedom, one often speaks offreedom fromandfreedom to! The freedom of Socialism consists of -freedom from- poverty, wage slavery, disrespect, humiliation, oppression, violence, constant indoctrination through media and advertising, continuous demands for increased performance, abuse of power, threats of job loss, fear of financial insecurity, exploitation, and the accumulation of wealth by a few, and so on.

And the freedom of Socialism consists of -freedom to- decent wages, free time, freedom to flourish as a human being, to spend time with children and family, to spend time with friends, to pursue hobbies, freedom for creativity in arts and culture, for innovation in the economy, freedom to share with others the fruits of resources, to have a share in the added value of labor, to have good housing, to have enough to eat, to have clothes to wear, freedom for free education, free medical care, to influence one's immediate environment, to express one's opinions, to have an independent will, etc.

It is fitting to conclude this article on freedom with what Einar Olgeisson, former chairman of the elder Sósíalistaflokkurinn, says in the introduction to the Kommúnistaávarpið about the philosopher Rousseau, who lived in the 18th century and greatly influenced the leaders of the French Revolution of 1789. Einar says that Rousseau was: … an advocate for millions who otherwise had no one, a defender of the humble who were trampled underfoot by the powerful, a champion of freedom that the armies of the oppressed yearned for, a spokesman for truth that the wealthy and nobility scorned, a herald of love that hypocrisy and frivolity abused, a singer of nature that culture disfigured and destroyed, a poet of feelings that custom and form fettered …

Katrín Baldursdóttir