Comments on: Freedom is Slavery, or how and why everything costs http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery "Now I feel like I know less about what that blog is about than I did before." Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:16:32 +0000 http://thetarpit.org hourly 1 By: Against the direction in Romanian culture today, translated and annotated « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-4211 Against the direction in Romanian culture today, translated and annotated « The Tar Pit Sun, 28 May 2023 14:18:13 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-4211 [...] way I'm not convinced by this argumentum ad populum. The common folk can't just "take freedom" without paying for the responsibilities that it entails. The so-called social contract was always [...] [...] way I'm not convinced by this argumentum ad populum. The common folk can't just "take freedom" without paying for the responsibilities that it entails. The so-called social contract was always [...]

]]> By: spyked http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-3133 spyked Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:51:18 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-3133 While this may make a decent satire piece, it misses the main point of "freedom", that is, that the definition from Merriam-Webster is bullshit. Freedom is undefinable in the absence of a context which implicitly presupposes constraints, and from this perspective, absolute freedom constrains absolutely. As with all dichotomies, the freedom-constraint relationship should be looked at clearly, and given the last couple of decades (or rather: centuries), with a special look towards disentangling it from all the bullshit that befell modernism. Surely, this is slowly becoming apparent even to the dumber among "us", but for some I fear it may be too late. While this may make a decent satire piece, it misses the main point of "freedom", that is, that the definition from Merriam-Webster is bullshit. Freedom is undefinable in the absence of a context which implicitly presupposes constraints, and from this perspective, absolute freedom constrains absolutely.

As with all dichotomies, the freedom-constraint relationship should be looked at clearly, and given the last couple of decades (or rather: centuries), with a special look towards disentangling it from all the bullshit that befell modernism. Surely, this is slowly becoming apparent even to the dumber among "us", but for some I fear it may be too late.

]]> By: On intellectual feudalism « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-3012 On intellectual feudalism « The Tar Pit Sun, 18 Sep 2022 16:19:34 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-3012 [...] that I maintain with my own two hands, on my own time and dime. Freedom costs -- everything in life costs and there's no other way to go about it, but sure, feel free to search that elixir while the world [...] [...] that I maintain with my own two hands, on my own time and dime. Freedom costs -- everything in life costs and there's no other way to go about it, but sure, feel free to search that elixir while the world [...]

]]> By: Ion Ghica, Letters to Vasile Alecsandri: From the time of Caragea [iii] « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-2052 Ion Ghica, Letters to Vasile Alecsandri: From the time of Caragea [iii] « The Tar Pit Sun, 01 May 2022 16:49:33 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-2052 [...] What, you thought the job of sharing comes for free? Nothing comes for free. ↩ [...] [...] What, you thought the job of sharing comes for free? Nothing comes for free. ↩ [...]

]]> By: A cursory look at the infamous TRB "wedge" bug « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-435 A cursory look at the infamous TRB "wedge" bug « The Tar Pit Wed, 14 Oct 2020 06:52:46 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-435 [...] Why do "they" do this? So that "they", in effect, own you. [...] [...] Why do "they" do this? So that "they", in effect, own you. [...]

]]> By: A declaration of war on the HTTP of Shit « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-414 A declaration of war on the HTTP of Shit « The Tar Pit Wed, 14 Oct 2020 06:26:43 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-414 [...] the proverbial dirt as well. The interface will perhaps not look so fancy as it does now, but alas, everything costs. I will however make sure that the blog looks and acts decently in lynx, w3m, Dillo and maybe [...] [...] the proverbial dirt as well. The interface will perhaps not look so fancy as it does now, but alas, everything costs. I will however make sure that the blog looks and acts decently in lynx, w3m, Dillo and maybe [...]

]]> By: Greenspan's Assault on Integrity, annotated « The Tar Pit http://thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-59 Greenspan's Assault on Integrity, annotated « The Tar Pit Fri, 11 Oct 2019 11:07:14 +0000 http://wp.thetarpit.org/2016/freedom-is-slavery#comment-59 [...] three basic constituents of any and every totalitarian state: a bureaucracy to "make the policies" (freedom is slavery), a circus to keep people distracted while gathering intelligentia in the field (ignorance is [...] [...] three basic constituents of any and every totalitarian state: a bureaucracy to "make the policies" (freedom is slavery), a circus to keep people distracted while gathering intelligentia in the field (ignorance is [...]

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