Freedom- A Dilemma

How does one define anything?

Nothing is true in its absolute form these days. every single thing is based on influence and its surroundings. Nothing in absolution is actually relevant. The ever so slight flaw or imperfection is what defines the world as it is today.

Even the simple pendulum is not so simple and even gases have ideal laws. Definitions change because circumstance change and as former ICSE student I truly know how perfect a definition is supposed to be, because one full stop in the wrong place costs us the entire mark.   

But that’s not how the world functions right. There are tons of misplaced full stops everywhere and that’s what adds to the complexity of this universe.  Every imperfection is the start of a new chain of information, a different angle in this seemingly infinitely intricate "small world". 

This begs the question - what even is ideal?

“Ideal” – is a model. It’s like the Directive principles that Gandhiji left us with. It is basically a rulebook for utopia.  Just like utopia does not have a rulebook because it is so perfect, similarly the real world doesn’t have use for - “ideal”.

Now that we have established that nothing in its true nature is applicable in the real world-

How do we define freedom?

The dictionary elucidation of "freedom" is- the power or right to do or say anything without anyone stopping you

But exactly how much freedom is true freedom. Does freedom give you the right to carve a flint knife and stab anyone. Now there are some lines that everyone understands should not be crossed but how much freedom ensure that one stays in line. How much monitoring do individuals need, to not tilt towards wrong doings? How much oversight does one require? 

The cost of information

The biggest asset in the world is information. Anyone who has information about something is truly king. Let’s take the most relevant example. The sars-cov-2 required a vaccine and the company who could come up with the solution would be billionaires overnight. Why is that? Its not only because of the vaccine that they would put for sale but more because of the research that they could sell for billions in profit. This research is the information.

To beat the competition, you need to move ahead and what better way than to know what your competitor is up to. What if you could know their action plan and methodology? That is the information that could be monetized. It’s the price to pay for a capital that can push you ahead in this wild battle of limited resources.

Having acknowledged the power of information, it is suffice to say that world organizations could go to any extent to obtain it.

Now vital information also helps authorities solve and prevent crime, but the question arises to what extent are organizations and governments going to go to obtain such information and what is the trade-off that common people have to make in this quest for security.

You are giving up your privacy and safety to one, just to be protected from the other. Who monitors those who monitor us? We are only human. Now the dilemma arises- are you truly as free as you believe you are.  

It is fascinating how often times the nation as a whole forgets (in a free country like India that is) that governments are formed for the people.

“if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear”

It is a compelling argument made by authorities. Now most law-abiding citizens would agree with it but the main reason it cannot stand, is because it is invasive and prone to abuse. In addition, allowing surreptitious surveillance of one, even for a limited scope, and for a particular contingency, encourages governments to expand such surveillance programs in the future.

There's always someone who breaks the system, someone who is better than the system. So, organizations take a step further to prevent this from happening. But this cycle continues...

Let's take the example of hacking.

A business sets up a secure network, but is then hacked. They find the vulnerabilities in the system and enhance their security. The hacker finds a more sophisticated way to crack the code. This cycle continues. No wonder today security firms have reached this level of refined advancement.

What is the transaction that you are willing to make?

Loss of privacy for "enhanced" security or a truer freedom. Now that is something to chew on.