Ah, along those lines, 'On Freedom' by Timothy Snyder has been a good read for me.

I’ve actually read that. Reads like Karl Marx trying to win over JS Mills at the bar. Like “hey if everyone just agreed to follow the dictates of the institutions I agree with then we’d all be free!”

I have enjoyed it, maybe I would enjoy a conversation between Karl Marx and JS Mills. I appreciate the mix of history, current events, personal stories, and concepts like positive freedom (freedom to), negative freedom (freedom from), focusing on why (vs. solely how), mobility, and factuality.

It’s an interesting read, but the thesis is anti-freedom. He loves democracy and free speech but doesn’t quite trust people with it. His version of “freedom” is one that’s earned by believing the right things, and listening to the right experts. It’s not about autonomy. It’s about compliance

As I work my way through the book, unpredictability, freedom to, and mobility do not seem to be about compliance and do seem to be about autonomy to me.

He theorizes unpredictability, mobility, and “freedom to” act mean autonomy, but without power over your conditions, those freedoms are easily co-opted. What looks like autonomy masks deeper compliance. Real freedom demands more than motion and options it requires agency and responsibility.

In other words it’s the Communist Manifesto except instead of seizing means you must seize narratives. Either way, you’re not the one in charge.