Political freedom is impossible without economic freedom

Evidence

Zini opposed an abstract, indirect idea of political freedom, arguing that it is impossible without economic freedom. We must reclaim the word “freedom.” Our new class lens helps us call out and contradict the guardians of the capital order, who use “freedom” to disguise their defense of the market economy. Economic freedom is really about emancipation from exploitation and impersonal domination. It is freedom from the obsessive and paralyzing centrality of an inhumane economic system. It is freedom to put human value before economic self-interest, to do work that is meaningful for oneself and others. It is the freedom to fully realize our capacities as flourishing, compassionate beings. It is freedom to reconstitute social bonds and solidarities. Economic freedom is true liberation. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 407

Categorization

• DEFINE: Reframes ‘freedom’ from the liberal-individualist sense to an economic-emancipatory sense rooted in class analysis.
• XREF: connects to: Real political participation requires eliminating economic inequality as a cause of unequal political access. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2342; Political freedom is impossible when economic dependence forces people to sell their labor — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 533; Freedom must be conceived negatively as freedom from the economy — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 112 (+16 more)

Broader Connections

• Political freedom is impossible when economic dependence forces people to sell their labor #corroborates (0.95) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 533
• Friedman held political freedom historically requires capitalism #corroborates (0.90) — Jessica Whyte, The Morals of the Market, 325
• Classical liberalism prioritized political freedom over economic liberty. #contradicts (0.85) — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 391
• Freedom must be conceived negatively as freedom from the economy #qualifies (0.80) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 112
• Political contestation under capitalism cannot challenge the economic system itself #expands (0.80)
• Leading neoliberals defended restricting political freedom to preserve economic freedom #qualifies (0.80) — Quinn Slobodian, Globalists, 500
• Market ideology functions to repress freedom rather than secure it #complicates (0.75) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 600
• The economy never operates free of political and ideological practices #complicates (0.75)
• Juridico-political ideology masks the economic’s determinant role under capitalism #expands (0.75)