Freedom lies in refusing the prescribed choice between friend and enemy

Evidence

The a priori reduction to the friend-enemy relationship is one of the primal phenomena of the new anthropology. Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices. — Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia, 156

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: The aphorism’s compressed, almost apophatic account of freedom — not choosing correctly but refusing the very alternatives offered.
• XREF: Resonates with the reader’s silent-communication sources and with Carl Schmitt’s friend/enemy politics named just above. — connects to: Alliances can serve as devices for surrendering freedom of choice — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 712; Freedom is a relational fight that must be renewed, not a possession — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 3681; Evenhanded policy toward friends and enemies undermines both alliances and deterrence (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Evenhanded policy toward friends and enemies undermines both alliances and deterrence #exemplifies (0.85)
• Alliances can serve as devices for surrendering freedom of choice #expands (0.82) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 712
• Freedom is a relational fight that must be renewed, not a possession #expands (0.78) — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 3681