The Three Dimensions of Freedom - Billy Bragg

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• The introduction discusses how technology has given people more power and perceived freedom, yet genuine freedom and agency still need to be improved.

• Liberty alone does not guarantee freedom. Equality and accountability are also needed.

• Neoliberalism and globalization have weakened regulatory democracy and individual agency.

• Corporations capture the democratic process, making reforms difficult.

• People feel angry that neoliberalism has failed to deliver the standard of living and security previous generations enjoyed.

• Authoritarianism is rising as demagogues exploit divisions.

• Accountability is critical to restoring agency to individuals and countering authoritarians and algorithms.

• The liberty chapter explores how freedom and agency have evolved throughout history.

• Neoliberal ideology now dominates, advancing globalization at the expense of regulatory democracy. This has reduced individual agency.

• Democracy’s ability to counter neoliberalism has been weakened. People feel elites ignore their voices.

• Liberty, equality and accountability are all needed to ensure freedom and agency. The powerful must be held accountable.

• Governments have little power due to the dominance of global markets and neoliberalism. People have wanted change since the 2008 financial crisis, but the system continues unchanged.

• This lack of agency has led to anger and the rise of populist politicians who promise to reassert national sovereignty. However, these populists don’t challenge neoliberalism, make it work for them.

• Populists need to provide a sense of agency to their supporters facing economic insecurity. The notion of a “culture war” does this by targeting rage against minorities and progressives rather than the oppressive system.

• Those who feel threatened see political correctness as a significant problem. It represents their powerlessness in the face of cultural change.

• Hayek argued regulation was coercion and markets should be free. His ideas influenced neoliberalism’s focus on individual freedom through consumer choice rather than collective provision.

• Keynes advocated government intervention and regulation to ensure the market worked for all. The post-war consensus supported the welfare state and narrowing inequality.

• Neoliberalism from the 1970s onwards reversed this, recommodifying services and attacking organized labor. It was an attempt to restore business control and profitability.

In summary, the rise of neoliberalism has disempowered governments and citizens, leading to populist backlashes. But actual agency requires challenging neoliberal assumptions, not just redirecting anger towards scapegoats.

• Social democracy after WWII brought capitalism under control through a mixed public and private ownership economy. This benefited the majority, but some industrialists and financiers disliked the restrictions.

• In 1947, free market advocates including Friedrich Hayek formed the Mont Pelerin Society to promote their libertarian views. Over decades they funded think tanks to shift policy in favour of deregulation.

• Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were elected in 1979-80 and enacted sweeping free market reforms, guided by Hayek’s ideas. They removed regulations on finance and business that had enabled oversight.

• Globalization and new technology put strain on the power of nation states to regulate economies. Thatcher removed controls on overseas transactions, enabling capital flight threats—the 1986 “Big Bang” deregulated finance in the UK.

• The free market ideology was portrayed as a natural force benefiting all, although it concentrated power with corporations and finance. Leaders like Alan Greenspan saw global markets as supplanting national policymaking.

• Faith in unrestrained free markets has led to issues like the Carillion collapse, where corporations became “too big to fail” based on assumptions of government bailouts. However, ideology was different from accountability.

• Construction company Carillion collapsed in 2018 after prioritizing executive bonuses and dividends over funding its pension scheme. This was seen as a failure of accountability and privatization.

• The notion that low taxes and good public services can coexist is a neoliberal belief. Private finance initiatives (PFIs) were designed to circumvent public borrowing limits but cost taxpayers much more.

• “Trickle-down economics” claims that lowering taxes on the wealthy encourages investment and jobs. But consumer spending by the masses drives growth more than the rich few.

• “It’s the economy, stupid” encapsulated the neoliberal focus on the economy over social issues. But many voters prioritize other concerns.

• “TINA” (There Is No Alternative) is the most pernicious neoliberal claim that free markets are the only option. But China’s state-run economy challenges this.

• Neoliberals cannot respond to demands for change due to their rigid ideology. This has fueled the rise of populism. Voters have turned to nationalism to regain control from globalization’s forces.

• Populism promises superficial changes to the neoliberal system, like a placebo that provides a rush of satisfaction but does not address underlying issues.

• To fix economic imbalance and strengthen democracy, citizens need the chance to vote for policies that regulate markets.

• Freedom of speech alone is not enough - equality is also vital, meaning respecting others’ right to speak freely.

• The quote “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” encapsulates this link between liberty and equality.

• Ancient Greek concepts like isegoria (equal speech rights) and parrhesia (unfettered speech) echo modern debates on free speech.

• In the US, freedom of speech has been challenged by marginalized groups seeking equality, provoking a conservative backlash against “political correctness” since the 1980s.

• Universities became a battleground, with critics like Allan Bloom claiming multiculturalism undermined the Western canon, exhibiting the intolerance they accused students of.

• Defending exclusivity and power dynamics seems a key motivation for those railing against inclusive academic efforts today.

• The Intellectual Dark Web is a loosely affiliated group of thinkers who see themselves as defenders of free speech, though they are often unwilling to extend that right to opponents.

• Members like Eric Weinstein say they don’t want to spend time debating those “not serious in their intellectualism”, setting up their no-go zones.

• Like some free speech advocates, they can resort to illiberal arguments, as in Ron Paul’s racist tweet about “cultural Marxism”.

• Social media has blurred public and private spheres, allowing some to act in anonymous public spaces in ways they wouldn’t dare in person.

• In response, some advocate for university “safe spaces” to ensure inclusive debate free from harassment, not to control speech itself.

• Far-right provocateurs now use social media to take angry rhetoric to the streets, trying to provoke reactions from progressive communities like Portland.

• Groups like Patriot Prayer rally around confrontation itself, not ideology, representing online forums made physical.

• Crises of accountability have been catalysts for advances in individual agency throughout history, such as the Magna Carta limiting monarchical power, the break from the Catholic Church under Henry VIII, and the English Civil War leading to the unprecedented execution of Charles I for treason against the state rather than the crown.

• The 2008 financial crash was a crisis of accountability resulting from financial deregulation in the 1980s that allowed opaque transactions and excessive risk-taking by banks. This illustrated the problems caused by an unchecked free market.

• Accountability mechanisms like regulation aim to ensure business practices are safe and transparent, though they are often opposed by those with power who see them as restricting liberty.

• Capitalism is like fire - it requires oversight and control for society to benefit. Without accountability, its excesses will cause harm.

• True liberty requires accountability and freedom from restraint, to maintain balance and prevent abuse of power. Those demanding free speech must also be willing to listen to dissenting voices.

• Accountability applies to all, even those in privileged positions. No one should be exempt from being held responsible for their words and actions.

• The English Bill of Rights (1689) created a framework of accountability around executive power, influencing later constitutions. However, it mainly applied to parliament, not citizens.

• The British constitution is ‘uncodified’ - rights are contained in various laws and conventions rather than a single document. This allows flexibility but compromises the immutability of rights.

• Incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law in 1998 enhanced individual rights and accountability. However, some opposed this as undermining parliamentary sovereignty.

• Opposition to the EU echoes this - EU rules and directives aim to hold the UK accountable on issues like workers’ rights and financial regulation. But Brexit supporters want to ‘take back control’ to avoid accountability.

• The EU requires compromise and coalition-building across diverse member states. Unlike the UK system where the majority party holds power, the EU provides a system of checks and balances on British sovereignty. Brexit removes this.

• The British are used to getting their way due to their role in institutions like the UN Security Council and NATO. The Brexit debate reveals a sense of entitlement and failure to recognize the UK’s diminished place globally.

• The EU has faults like slow decision-making and unelected technocrats imposing policies. However, cooperation is needed to address global issues that exceed the nation state’s capacity.

• Brexit reflects a nationalist backlash against multinational institutions trying to find collective solutions. Trump’s “America First” doctrine also rejects global accountability.

• Demagogues exploit patriotism to shield themselves from criticism. The Brexit debate showed disregard for facts and expert opinion.

• Media amplification of differences and confrontational personalities harms policy debate. Accountability and respectful disagreement have been undermined.

• Deregulation of media, like abolishing the FCC’s fairness doctrine, enabled partisan broadcasting. Social media needs accountability, too, given revelations about its data being exploited for political gain.

• Facebook’s power is enhanced by people freely providing data that can be mined to profile and politically target them psychologically. Social media firms evade accountability through opaque algorithms and terms of service.

• Social media giants like Facebook enjoy dominant market positions but avoid accountability through complex international tax structures. Regulators struggle to hold them to account.

• Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #NeverAgain have allowed citizens to demand accountability and drive social change using social media.

• Climate change denial persists among neoliberals who fear environmentalism threatens free markets. Collective action is needed to hold corporations accountable for sustainability.

• People feel disempowered by neoliberal democracy and globalization, driving support for populism. Meaningful democratic reforms are needed to decentralize power and restore individual agency.

• Corporate accountability should be strengthened through worker representation on boards, stakeholder rights, and tax reforms. Algorithms need transparency and oversight.

• By reconnecting liberty to equality and accountability, we can restore the three dimensions of freedom - individual, political, and collective - and protect democracy from authoritarianism.

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