Fear of freedom leads people to prefer security over liberty

Evidence

Fear of freedom, of which its possessor is not necessarily aware, makes him see ghosts. Such an individual is actually taking refuge in an attempt to achieve security, which he or she prefers to the risks of liberty. — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 77

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘fear of freedom’ as an unconscious preference for security over the risks of liberty.
• XREF: connects to: Realizing one’s radical freedom produces anxiety, not liberation — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 501; Bad faith links fear of freedom to anti-Semitic demonization of others — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 506; Anxiety about freedom drives subjects to alienate themselves in things — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 128 (+2 more)