Freedom in Retreat

A great deal of what I’ve heard and read recently have mixed together to form a rather disturbing realisation: globally, individual freedom is in retreat. I don’t think it’s actually a new realisation for me; it’s just that it’s one that I had forgotten about for quite a while. It was a shock to realise, once again, that this is actually the way it is. What is more, the last time I argued this position it was based more on extremist rhetoric, while now I believe my understanding is more nuanced.

Still, where ever my starting point, I find I cannot avoid the conclusion that individual freedom has been badly mauled in the last half-decade. Democracy, for example, has been seriously undermined on the global stage. In Asia democracy is obviously not doing half as well as was originally thought. The economist recently published a beautiful little map that showed what countries could be considered truly democratic in South East Asia. There was only one country, Indonesia, and Indonesia is a mess.

In the Middle East democracy has also been seriously undermined, especially by the actions of foreign democracies. Many Iraqis, for instance, now no longer care what kind of government system they get, as long as they get peace. In other countries, including Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, democratic process has been weakened by alterations to the constitution or just simple power grabs.

Eastern Europe’s governmental reforms have also stalled, with incompetent, ignorant and nationalistic governments doing as little as possible to make their countries more free and more open.

And then, of course, there is the resurgent Russia; which is about as democratic as your average crime family, but then with nuclear bombs. Democracy hasn’t just stalled there, but actually been remade in Russia’s image: ‘Yes, of course you can vote, you can either vote for my man A or my man B!’

And this is, of course, ignoring such things as the steady but gradual decline of international law. The Geneva Convention has been unilaterally attacked from multiple directions (in terms of protection from torture, access to representation, protection from oppression and once assumed innocence till proven guilty).

Why is this happening? And if individual citizens are no longer able to make these decision, then who is making those now? Is it governments? International business? The elite?

Does this all mean that the individual matters less in this modern world? Or is it that through chicanery and trickery the few have taken the power away from the many? If those few are so good at tricking the many, are they also better at making decisions than the many, or is this a bad trend?

If it is a bad trend, then why aren’t the masses speaking out against it?

And one of the most important questions on everybody's minds right now, should we be pursuing freedom or prosperity?