3
top 3 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

This is only true if you would choose to use your freedom in ways that don't benefit others.

I'm free as hell. I choose to use my freedom to help my children, my wife, and my community. So no, they and I don't need to be more capable of taking care of ourselves. We can take care of each other. Because we choose to. Because we're free to.

[-] yesman@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

This is a false choice. Seeing bounds and ties to each other as burdensome isn't "human nature". Human nature is cooperative and collaborative and requires valuing people beyond immediate material gain. Wisdom is another term.

[-] Carrotwurst@programming.dev 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I never said anything about the experience of burden. You're just making that assumption and skipping over the criteria of "freedom for EVERYONE". Not just the individual.

The hyper-individualist (who might see caring for others as burdensome) has to accept that EVERYONE has the same level of freedom as them - meaning if they allow everyone the same level of freedom as themselves, they must accept the possibility that nobody catches them as they fall (and that they may have to actively defend themselves against other people exercising their freedom the way they want) and thus, they must be willing and able to care for themselves in exact proportion to how much they want freedom for EVERYONE. This does include having the ABILITY to persuade other people to care for you the way you need (be it out of genuine love for one's family or by oppressive force - but again, everyone else has the same freedom).

On the other hand, if you want to be very collectivist and put emphasis on mutual care and group cohesion, you're going to have to accept that amount of limitations on EVERYONE's freedoms. Meaning you have responsibility to follow the social norms and rules of a collective. Laws, regulations, taxes. You're going to have to be subject to some kind of authority that keeps cohesion in place BUT that authority on the other hand does have the responsibility to provide care, services, general quality of life.

Where you land here is on nobody but you to figure out.

this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2026
3 points (100.0% liked)

Showerthoughts

42330 readers
247 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS