Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Rebellion, Solidarity, and Justice




"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion."

The Way of democracy is the Utilitarian outcome of justice as public policy.

Democracy is Camus' rebellion made manifest for the good of all (utility) because from behind the veil of ignorance (Rawls), we would want a rebellion on the behalf of the marginalized because we might ourselves be members of the marginalized. And Camus'notion that we must imagine Sisyphus happy becomes the antithesis of the Stoic call to "keep calm and carry on" while hoping for a more just society.

We owe each other solidarity if we truly want freedom, which shows up in public policy as democracy, even if that solidarity cuts across the lines of privilege and causes us to sacrifice some of our personal present comfort

In so doing, we are freer, even though it might feel at first that we are more constrained.