We all know about Orwell’s “1984” and wondered: how could such a thing actually happen? Why did people who wanted freedom suddenly start to believe that “freedom is slavery,” “ignorance is strength,” and “war is peace”? And psychologist Erich Fromm answered this question very cleverly in his book, “Escape from Freedom.”
Fromm says: freedom is a contradictory thing. When a person receives freedom – it’s something to be celebrated… for the first 15 minutes. But then it starts: anxiety, loneliness, responsibility. No one tells you what to do anymore, and suddenly it turns out that thinking for yourself is exhausting. And then a person, quite unconsciously, begins to look for someone who says: “Hey, you’re not alone, just do things as we do. We know what’s best.”
From this point on, three mechanisms come into play, according to Fromm. The first is authoritarianism – the desire to find someone to whom one can transfer responsibility for their life (be it the state, the party, the church, or a charismatic leader), and along with this, to self-affirm through someone weaker. The second will be destructiveness – why not destroy what irritates us? Or direct aggression towards someone who “gets in the way”? And finally, the most cunning method – automatic conformity. You seem free, but unnoticed you do “as everyone else does.” Fashion, social media, advertisers and politicians are very happy about it. It’s much easier to sell an idea to a “normal” person than to a free one.
What else did Fromm say? He describes an interesting transition from the Middle Ages to modern capitalism. In the Middle Ages, a person was part of a community, the church, a craft guild. There was almost no freedom, but there was certainty about tomorrow and clarity as to who you are and where your place is. When traditional ties collapsed, the person was free, but lonely and confused. This negative freedom (freedom from something) very quickly turns into a problem if the person doesn’t know what they want themselves (freedom for something). It’s then that panic begins, a desire to become part of something bigger and more powerful again. That’s where the state or party appears, ready to “help.”
Fromm also notes that many modern people work in very large enterprises and corporations, where they, being just one employee out of thousands, cannot have real control over the results of their labor. This leads to a feeling of alienation and helplessness. Formally free, a person turns out to be a cog in a huge system, where they are told that they are important, but in reality they don’t make any decisions.
Now let’s move on to Orwell and his paradoxical slogans.
“Freedom is slavery”: a person becomes afraid of their own freedom, they begin to consider it a burden, while obedience to authority provides relief. Thus, freedom turns into slavery, and slavery seems like freedom from anxiety and responsibility.
Ignorance is strength: why suffer, doubt, and analyze? It’s much simpler to trust “those who know better.” The less you know, the more confident you feel. At least, that’s what you think, and you are genuinely convinced of it, even if that’s not actually the case.
War is peace: an external enemy perfectly unites and forces people to forget about internal problems. Constant war doesn’t allow people to think about freedom – because “it’s not time” now.
And here arises a very interesting thought for libertarians: Freedom is not just the absence of compulsion. It requires inner maturity, responsibility, critical thinking, and an understanding that your life is solely your responsibility. Otherwise, following freedom inevitably leads back – into the warm and cozy embrace of Big Brother. So it’s necessary to be free not only externally but also internally! Otherwise, someone will certainly come up with a slogan and decide for us what true freedom is.