Unlimited individual freedom breeds new repression through natural inequality

Evidence

To be sure, the shadow that lay across the freedom of individuals could not be banished entirely. Their equality, by which their freedom was justified, never did exist in reality as accomplished fact, and at the instant individuals received unlimited freedom, unmistakable inequality would generate a new repression, a repression of dullards by the smart, of the weak by the strong, of the shy by the aggressive. And it seems to me that it was an instinctive sense for this that resulted in the extension of the demand for liberté and égalité to include fraternité. For it was only through the voluntary act of renunciation as expressed in this concept that it would be possible to prevent liberté from being accompanied by the total opposite of égalité. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 534

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the essay’s causal chain — equality stated but never real threatens the blasé observer’s claim to freedom; also links to readings on liberalism’s internal contradictions. — connects to: Liberated individuals turn from equality toward distinguishing themselves from others — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 535; Invoking individual creative freedom obscures the social hierarchies behind minority protest; Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 687 (+12 more)

Related

• Liberated individuals turn from equality toward distinguishing themselves from others (similarity 0.89)
• Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality (similarity 0.84)
• Equality achieved becomes the platform for further competition and surpassing (similarity 0.84)
• The eighteenth century equated individuality with freedom and assumed natural human equality (similarity 0.81)
• True equality among people is impossible due to inescapable uniqueness (similarity 0.80)
• Individualism of equality and individualism of inequality both require large social circles. (similarity 0.80)
• Inclusive universal claims arise from within the particular (similarity 0.79)
• Modern equality makes ineradicable natural differences the basis of cruel group conflict (similarity 0.79)
• Modern individuality values being this specific irreplaceable person, not mere freedom (similarity 0.79)
• Individual liberty has become a cosmopolitan value beyond its Western origins (similarity 0.79)
• Modern individualism shifted from freedom-as-such to the value of being this specific irreplaceable self (similarity 0.78)
• Modern individual freedom simultaneously produces isolation and readiness for new bondage (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Large-scale systems enable rather than merely threaten individual self-actualisation #complicates (0.78) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 371
• Power cannot self-realize but depends on societal-structural conditions for legitimacy #expands (0.75)
• Liberated individuals turn from equality toward distinguishing themselves from others #expands (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 535
• Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality #qualifies (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 687
• Invoking individual creative freedom obscures the social hierarchies behind minority protest #exemplifies (0.55)