Liberty as a social value or social idea is a relatively recent phenomenon. It truly is. Sure, we’ve all heard about the ancient Greeks’ idea of ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ but these words ring hollow if you factor in the reality of Athens in ancient times. Athenian society features a small group of truly free people and lots of slaves who fueled the economy. Of course, women couldn’t vote and were relatively voiceless. Hardly the model of freedom and democracy, right? Moreover, as our collective political philosophy matured in the centuries after the Greeks, we have come to realize that there is actually a conflict between individual liberty and democracy. You have to remember that democracy simply means majority rule. This is a problem for the individual minority. This is a problem for unpopular subgroups in a larger population. This is a problem for people who live among a large number of people who expect their societies to be homogenous. Why? Let’s put it this way, if you are one of a handful of sheep among an army of wolves, you can bet who will be served up for lunch whenever a vote is called.
