A Point of View - The trouble with 'freedom'
Download The trouble with 'freedom'
"We like to tell ourselves an uplifting story in which freedom expands whenever tyranny is overthrown" writes John Gray. "We believe that...when a dictator is toppled the result is not only a more accountable type of government but also greater liberty throughout society".
But Gray believes otherwise. Using the nineteenth century liberal John Stuart Mill and his god-son Bertrand Russell, he advances his argument that liberty is one thing, democracy another.
"The reality" he says "is that when a tyrant is toppled we can't know what will come next".
Producer:
Adele Armstrong.
Published on Friday, 24th August 2012.
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