One question

There are a lot is “isms” out there. Socialism, democratic socialism, communism, corporatism, fascism, yada, yada, yada. The list seems almost endless. Interestingly, almost all of them can be grouped under the umbrella of an even greater ism. Collectivism. This is actually very convenient, because isms tend to promise all sorts of good things, especially freedom. The specific convenience is this: you can determine if a particular ism is collectivist in its approach by asking a single, simple question of only four words.

Can I opt out? That’s it. It’s possible to expand and complicate the question, but that is its most basic, and I submit its most useful, form. Can I opt out? If you offer me freedom, can I opt out? If I want to pursue my freedom some other way, without limiting or infringing upon the freedom and rights of others, can I opt out of what you offer? If the answer is “no,” regardless of the high and noble sounding arguments to support it, then what is offered is not freedom. At best, what is offered is the chance to experience “freedom” the way someone else wants you to.