In the comments to a previous post, Aaron Snell referenced the classical notion of freedom meaning “freedom to.” Ironically, I’ve been reading Biblical Christian Ethics by David Clyde Jones and he discussed this as well. Jones notes the shift from freedom being the ability to do what’s right, to the current idea in our society that freedom is the ability to do what you want…

“One of the most perceptive analyses of the American character in the 1980s was the best-seller Habits of the Heart, by Robert Bellah and four associates. The authors, backed up by their extensive sociological research, observe that “Americans tend to think of the ultimate goals of a good life as matters of personal choice.” Americans accordingly rank freedom has practically become definitive of the good in the American mind. But as Americans typically describe it, freedom is a summum bonum without positive content.

“Freedom turns out to mean being left alone by others, not having other people’s values, ideas, or styles of life forced upon one, being fee of arbitrary authority in work, family, and political life. What it is that one might do with that freedom is much more difficult for Americans to define.” (Bellah)

Freedom in the biblical tradition means freedom to do the will of God; in the republican tradition, to participate in working for the common good of society. But in modern American individualism, freedom means “freedom of choice” without reference to objective moral criteria. “What does the Bill of Rights mean to you?” a reporter asked a schoolchild viewing the original manuscript on display. “Being free to do whatever you want,” was not the expected reply. This is how the posterity of the founders of the American republic typically construe the “blessings of liberty” it as the purpose of the Constitution to secure for them/ “Choice is what this country’s all about” is a proposition of bumper-sticker depth, yet it appears as the trump card in all sorts of public policy issues… Freedom of choice functions in American culture as a self-justifying moral absolute.” (pages 34-35).

            In other words, our culture’s view of morality, which went from generally objective to subjective, has also affected our view of freedom. The postmodern culture puts Self as the standard: Self is the standard for what is right, and it must be unrestricted. In some sense, we are consuming ourselves. Our god is out stomachs.