Does democracy = freedom?
I don't really feel free in the US because the laws don't represent me and the police have too much power
I don't really feel free in the US because the laws don't represent me and the police have too much power
That doesn’t say anything about the level of corruption and still gives lot of powers to elected people, but in a way more distributed way than the alternatives.
Now, regarding the US, the political system seems to be completely broken. Just the fact that only two parties exist for such a large country is a clear sign there is a huge problem. And the president has a ridiculous amount of power compared to other democratic countries.
On the other hand, in a non-free country, you can give just the tiniest amount of freedom back to the people and it will be seen as a huge positive move.
Of cause anyone in the US or the EU is objectively much more free than someone in almost any random African country, but any attempt at tampering with those freedoms will be seen as a massive move in the wrong direction by the population.
The election system basically hands power to the two big parties, and distorts the political process.
-- tongue-in-cheek --
In all seriousness though, honestly the entire world is ran by oligarchs like Papa John Schnatter who took 20 months to purge the "N" word from his vocabulary...what exactly "counts" as a free country?
My "view" of a free country must include the following: A country with guaranteed healthcare, education (k-college), safety nets, and a decent plan for global warming induced famines and water shortages, parental leave, and maybe a UBI if we continue hemorrhaging jobs due to globalization, climate change, machines replacing workers,and of course a country that has fought (and won) against systemic racism (esp. in policing and workforce-equality).
By my count there's ...0 countries that fit my criteria for a "free" country. I mean maybe Finland comes close, not sure on the racism. I'm white so, I don't always "notice" myself, I'm only more aware because of the past year all the atrocities that occured by white supremacists in blue uniforms.
Depends where you live. In most European countries, as long as you are a resident with a legal address, past a certain amount of time lived here, you're expected to contribute a certain proportion of your earnings as taxes to fund all public and social services.
It could perhaps be offered as an emigration option to people who are opposed to paying into a system that everyone will benefit from.
If we can value one career over another then surely we can pay for those who choose to go into less pay-worthy but still necessary jobs like teachers.
As for healthcare single-payer would save lives and money and cut costs across the board, pretty sure that's a win-win for everybody without anything being "free" because you know we all pay for it out of taxes.
Free as in Beer would be my tax money going to pay for fancy toys for military and police that I'll never use, or the money that politicians get for siding against the people and for big business.
Or did you mean escape from labor?
Do you just want to force every company to be a cooperative? If so, have you thought about why business owners tend to opt to own what they worked on?
What laws (and it has to way more than one or two) would you like to change to feel represented? (whatever that means)