Philosophy Now Forum

The British don’t understand freedom, he said as he shot his neighbour.
A society of individual freedom has limited individual tolerance.
A society of shared tolerance has limited freedom.
A society with no liberty has no individualism.

RWStanding wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:44 am The British don’t understand freedom, he said as he shot his neighbour.
A society of individual freedom has limited individual tolerance.
A society of shared tolerance has limited freedom.
A society with no liberty has no individualism.

So why the British?

PhilX

I'm British, and I've tried to submit all of the following threads on this site

Do US senators need to breastfeed each other, so that the cast of EastEnders can slip on a banana?
Is the Vietnam War the way that Jessica Biel looks at the moon?
If a person wets the bed, does it mean they deserve to live in a mansion?
Can intrusive thoughts suffer from constipation?
If the Republican Party hid inside the buttocks of a movie star, would ants feel offended?

If these questions represent freedom, then doesn't that debunk the question?

RWStanding wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:44 am The British don’t understand freedom, he said as he shot his neighbour.
A society of individual freedom has limited individual tolerance.
A society of shared tolerance has limited freedom.
A society with no liberty has no individualism.

Are you saying that Great Britain is a society without individualism, or is something else the point of your OP?

Check around the world, and then say this with a straight face. English common law is not perfect, but it's not overly shabby either. As for individualism, just look at the quirky nature of the English, and their willingness to muddle through to the beat of their own drum.

Meanwhile the US teeters its way towards becoming a divided authoritarian state held together by an unaccountable leadership. It's easy to see the US falling into ever greater unrest with martial law being implemented to "keep the peace".

Yanks have enough to deal with without worrying about trivial freedoms or otherwise in England.

Greta wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 11:05 pm Meanwhile the US teeters its way towards becoming a divided authoritarian state held together by an unaccountable leadership. It's easy to see the US falling into ever greater unrest with martial law being implemented to "keep the peace".

Yanks have enough to deal with without worrying about trivial freedoms or otherwise in England.

I still cannot believe what is happening in the US. Bush and Cheney, who both should be locked up for their fabrications, look absolutely dignified in comparison to what they have now. And what we have now in Ontario. The bar is so low now, it's more like a hop scotch line.

RWStanding wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:44 am The British don’t understand freedom..

Places Britain started..

Canada
New Zealand
Australia
British Virgin Islands
USA
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
etc..

Now list me other nations with more freedom more democracy and less corruption..

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:02 pm

RWStanding wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:44 am The British don’t understand freedom..

Places Britain started..

Canada
New Zealand
Australia
British Virgin Islands
USA
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
etc..

Now list me other nations with more freedom more democracy and less corruption..

Some of these places such as the US had to fight for their independence from the British to gain their freedom.

PhilX

Philosophy Explorer wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:27 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:02 pm

RWStanding wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:44 am The British don’t understand freedom..

Places Britain started..

Canada
New Zealand
Australia
British Virgin Islands
USA
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
etc..

Now list me other nations with more freedom more democracy and less corruption..

Some of these places such as the US had to fight for their independence from the British to gain their freedom.

PhilX

Sure, but your values still came from the British, you just didn't want to pay for it.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:56 pm

Philosophy Explorer wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:27 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:02 pm

Places Britain started..

Canada
New Zealand
Australia
British Virgin Islands
USA
Cayman Islands
Falkland Islands
Gibraltar
etc..

Now list me other nations with more freedom more democracy and less corruption..

Some of these places such as the US had to fight for their independence from the British to gain their freedom.

PhilX

Sure, but your values still came from the British, you just didn't want to pay for it.

Besides the tea and other things, you also charged for values?!

PhilX

I think the OP has been misunderstood as there's irony in the first line as it applies to America, as does the second. The third I think is meant to apply to Britain and the fourth to non-democracies The title is a play on how the Yank is always making this statement and the whole thing is meant to contrast the consequences of trying to apply the word "freedom" in politics.

Philosophy Explorer wrote:Besides the tea and other things, you also charged for values?!

PhilX

Well the tea charge and others were meant to pay for the cost of the colonial wars we were fighting all over the place against the other great powers, not least to stop America being French but in retrospect I think we should have just let them have it.