ok, we are now thinking about the individual and society…
let us take a smaller look at this topic via something we are all
familiar with… business…
as is known, I work in a very large corporation, one of the 5
largest grocery chains in America… I work as a checker…
I am an individual working within a large business, a society of sorts…
how do I exists as an individual within this corporation?
I am not suppose too… and in that shocking answer
lies certain truths…
we as a people, within the society, are allowed freedom of speech in our public
life, we have the first amendment, "congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion…OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH…
now this is given to our public life, but it is not, not given to our private life,
in other words, I cannot give my free speech in a business world as I will be fired…
now this is justified as a business being privately owned and thus freed speech
can be punished… and punished as insubordination…but this doesn’t apply
to our free speech in the public sector… why the difference?
the government does, does act in matters of private conduct between
people… for example, one cannot shout fire in a crowded theater but
think about it, a theater is a privately owned business, how can the
government interfere with a privately owned business on someone
shouting fire?.. or lets us say, I get into a fight with someone and
fist are used… this is a private dispute between two private individuals
and yet, the government can and does interfere within private dispute between
two individuals…How is that possible? this dispute is between two private individuals…
presumably on private land, what right does the government have to interfere?
and yet, yet, the same rights that we have as public individuals, no
longer exists as members of a business? why? because the business is
privately owned?..
I have heard that companies have fired people for trashing that business
on social media? and the justification given is that the person trashing the
business might, MIGHT, cost the company profits… and in fact, companies
have sued those who have publicly stated negative things about the
business… why in this instance, does the right to freedom of speech
no longer in effect? I would make a suggestion…
it is not about the idea of the public vs the private aspect
as is understood in the case of two individuals fighting, fighting on
private land… no, because we have seen the government acting upon
such matter of private acts on private land… recall the laws against
homosexuality which allowed the government to act in the case of
two private individuals having sex in the privacy of their own home
and the government being able to arrest them for such acts
so there is no such scruples in such matters of private actions and
yet, in matters of the individual within a corporation having such
freedom as speech and action, there is no governmental
allowance of action because the corporation is a privately owned
corporation… why does this matter unless, unless there is another
factor involved… and I suggest that there is another factor involved…
that of profit/money…the corporation is allowed freedom
that is not allowed in our public life because of the fact that
such freedom of speech interferes with the profit/making of money…
and that is the major difference between the two… public and
private allowance of freedom of speech… for what other reason
could there be?
the government can and does interfere with matters involving private
matters between private individuals on private ground…
but yet, somehow a corporation is exempt from that interference…
and the only logical reason is the profit/money to be made for the corporation…
we have yet another example of our age being a nihilistic one…
putting profits/money over the lives of people…
over the actions and abilities and values of people…
we don’t have free speech in the business world because it hurts
the bottom line of the business…and yet, we allow dissent
in the public world even at the cost of undermining “values”
of the public world…
the owing of a company or business does not exempt a business
from dissent or free speech by individuals within that company or business…
this is yet another example of the private life being different
then the public life and that difference is part of our personal
and community wide alienation… we have different private
and public freedoms such as freedom of speech that are not equally
allowed due to corporations being held to one standard and
the private individual being held to another standard and why?
the only answer can be the profit motive…
this is one, just one example of the conflict between the private
and the public ideal that helps create the conflict within ourselves
and within the society at large…part of the malaise in society
is due to this vast inequity between our public life and our
private/corporate/working life…
how does the individual exists within the state is also
how does the individual exists within private matters such
as workers within a company/business…
we must hold them to the same standard…
but why?
recall what justice is? justice is the act of equality between
people… in other words, justice is treating everyone equally
and if we treat people differently in a business/corporate setting
then in public setting, we are acting unjustly… we are not following
justice which is the treating of people equally regardless of the setting,
private or public…
f we accept one standard in one place, we must also practice that
standard in a different context…
so are you for freedom of speech in ALL areas of life or in certain
specific area’s and thus are you practicing justice or are you
engaging in being unjust?
Kropotkin