What is the feeling of freedom?

The work on the topic “Being a free person” was remembered by us for the disputes in the editorial office and the endless clarification of the meaning of the simplest concepts. And so the October issue was out of print a long time ago, readers appreciated the plot, which was new for us, but we did not manage to come to an agreement on the “ingredients” of a sense of freedom. To resolve our doubts, we turned to the Public Opinion Foundation and asked sociologists to find out the ideas that are widespread in our society on this matter. In part, the results were expected: 91% of Russians say that freedom is always better than lack of freedom. At the same time, three-quarters of the respondents believe that “people are not born free, but become”, but about the same number believe that not everyone is capable of becoming free. In everyday life, many things prevent us from achieving freedom: bad work, bosses, officials, household chores, illness, annoying relatives. And what, then, is necessary in order to experience a sense of freedom? More than 80% named the opportunity to do what they love, the opportunity to choose, the opportunity to express their opinion and, of course, material independence.

The question is money?

They are a condition of freedom and at the same time limit it, for example, in the case of an unloved but financially profitable job. And in most cases, pragmatic considerations outweigh. 73% of respondents agreed with the thesis “For me, stability is more important than the feeling of freedom”, and 54% are ready to sacrifice it for the sake of material well-being. “Stability turns out to be too strong a temptation and acts as an indicator of not declarative, but real, habitual attitudes,” sociologist Larisa Pautova explains these data. “Of course, money gives us more opportunities, but their importance should not be overestimated,” comments existential psychologist Yevgeny Osin. – Money seems to us a source of freedom when we lack it for the most essential things. The results only show that most of us are still unable to meet our basic material needs, and the issue of freedom is not even on the agenda yet.” The survey data confirms this: low-income people are much more likely than others (41%) to say that they do not understand the meaning of the concept of “freedom”; they dismiss it as a word of no importance to their lives.

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• Intelligence and conscience

Learned helplessness

Does your sense of freedom depend on yourself or on circumstances? Older people are generally convinced that freedom has more to do with external circumstances than with the actions of the person himself. “This is how the phenomenon of learned helplessness manifests itself,” explains Evgeny Osin. – When a person is taught for a long time that what is happening is not connected with his actions, but with the will of his superiors, the situation in the country or an accident, he gets used to the fact that the quality of his own life depends on other people. As a result, he refuses to make an effort even in those issues that he could solve himself, and generally loses hope of changing his life. Our beliefs and our life circumstances are closely linked. “As soon as we internally take the position of a free person, we stop accepting the circumstances of our life as an indispensable reality and begin to see different possibilities in front of us, for the implementation or rejection of which we are responsible to ourselves,” explains Evgeny Osin. “It’s not that easy, but the longer we put off choosing freedom for the future, the less time we have to create and live a really good life for ourselves.”

Free, successful, satisfied with life

What bonuses can freedom give us? Or, at least, how do “always free” people differ from others (because it is not known what is the cause and what is the effect)? Larisa Pautova lists important points: they more often live in harmony with themselves (87% vs. 76% on average in the sample), more often say that they have found their destiny (74% vs. 63%), more often they are satisfied with life (69% vs. 53%) more likely to see many choices in life (38% versus 29%). Still, freedom is really better!