Poll: Freedom or Order?

[Xpwn3ntial]

In my college ancient civilization course, I was lectured the rivalry between Athens and Sparta along with the ideological differences between the two. That is the premise for this thread. I already knew about the rivalry, but never thought much of the ideological differences until this morning.

Which is more important to you? Freedom or order?

Freedom is pretty self-explanatory: the right to vote, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the like. But, taken too far, freedom becomes anarchy and unrestricted freedom becomes chaos where anything (such as but not limited to murder) is legal and technically acceptable.

Order is a little more complex. Order is government, society, civilization, laws, etc. which placed safeties upon the people. It protects you (largely) from crimes and your fellow man as well as (ideally) creates equality amongst your fellow human being. The downside to order is that it can and has become tyrannical before and will likely do so again, restricting freedoms mentioned above.

Of course, a balance between the two is ideal, but it will not be on the poll since it would dominate the poll.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Freedom Leads to Order. Order does not usually lead to freedom.

 

[QuantumT]

Of course, a balance between the two is ideal, but it will not be on the poll since it would dominate the poll.

The reason that it would dominate is that it makes far more sense than anarchy or totalitarianism.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

So freedom and placing faith in the many or order and placing faith in the one. That's actually a very tough question.

Order I would think is better, it would keep people safe, however if tyranical it would make people revolt for freedom. Once freedom is obtained it may go out of hand so they will try to establish a new order.

I will just say order, even if it turns out tyranical it would be more controlled than everyone doing what they want and causing a fuster cluck.

 

[Xpwn3ntial]

Of course, a balance between the two is ideal, but it will not be on the poll since it would dominate the poll.

The reason that it would dominate is that it makes far more sense than anarchy or totalitarianism.

Precisely.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

People don't seem to fully consider what freedom is. Freedom would be a complete and total lack of order. If you are free, you can do absolutely anything you want. Nobody else has the "right" to stop you, but if they are free as well they can try if that is what they want. The current political use of the word freedom is entirely different than the true meaning. Pure freedom requires complete anarchy.

That said, freedom is not necessarily a good thing obviously. Though to some extent it definitely is good to have. Total freedom of thought(including religion) and speech are probably the most important aspects of any society. Order is necessary to any society that wishes to prevent the senseless acts of violence and chaos that anarchy would inevitably bring despite how ideal it sounds in theory.

Overall there is no reason to say one way or the other which is more important. A perfect society(something that will never exist) wold have a balance between the two. There is no reason to choose between only freedom or only order.