The Three Dimensions of Freedom

by Billy Bragg

  Rather than relying on the whims of benign authoritarians or the largesse of multinational corporations, people deserve the security of health, employment and tenancy that comes from having some form of agency. Accountability is the key to creating a civic revolution.

  A programme of democratic reform that decentralises power and makes everyone’s vote count is desperately needed if we hope to re-engage citizens in deliberative democracy. Voting rights must be guaranteed for all and electoral districts drawn up by an independent commission. In order that elected office not be limited to millionaires, we need restrictions on campaign financing. Lobbyists and think tanks should be subject to strict transparency rules to ensure we know who is paying for the information we receive.

  For many low-skilled workers, the casualisation of labour means that work no longer provides them with a route out of poverty. The restoration of accountability in the workplace through bargaining rights and guaranteed seats for workers on company boards, with full voting rights, should be the first step towards rebalancing power between employer and employee.

  The freedom that capitalism relies on is a one-dimensional construct within a rigged system that absolves corporations from any liability save that of creating profit. Corporate law must be repurposed to take into account the need for businesses to recognise their social responsibilities. The rights of all stakeholders to share equally in profits should refocus remuneration away from executives and shareholders and towards workers and long-term investment. Governments must learn to work together on a global level, challenging the extractive model of capitalism and ensuring that taxes are paid in proportion to the profits made within each national jurisdiction. International cooperation is necessary to create a sustainable economy that respects the environment.

  Transparency is the key to curbing the power of the tech giants. As artificial intelligence takes on a greater role in our homes, algorithms must be subject to regulatory oversight to ensure the decisions they make are free from bias. A digital bill of rights is needed to set an international framework protecting the personal data of individuals from misuse and exploitation without consent. Accountability must play a greater role in social media discourse, with sanctions for those who post abusive content.

  There was once a different way of doing things. Progressive taxation helped narrow inequality and reciprocal obligations led to the provision of free health care, affordable housing and lifetime learning for those who sought it. Regulatory democracy kept the markets in check and greed wasn’t good.

  Now authoritarians and algorithms threaten democracy, while we argue over who has the right to speak. To protect ourselves from encroaching tyranny, we must look beyond a one-dimensional notion of what it means to be free and, by reconnecting liberty to equality and accountability, restore the individual agency engendered by the three dimensions of freedom.

  References

  p. 15: Donald Trump on political correctness www.time.com/3988276/republican-debate-primetime-transcript-full-text/

  p. 24: Margaret Thatcher and The Constitution of Liberty John Ranelagh, Thatcher’s People: An Insider’s Account of the Politics, the Power and the Personalities (HarperCollins, 1991)

  p. 26: John Maynard Keynes: ‘Let goods be homespun’ John Maynard Keynes, ‘National Self-Sufficiency’, The Yale Review, Vol. 22, no. 4 (June 1933)

  p. 28: Reform of company law under Thatcher ‘BoE’s Haldane Says Corporations Putting Shareholders Before Economy’, Financial Times, 25 July 2015

  p. 29: Alan Greenspan: ‘The world is governed by market forces’ Tages-Anzeiger, 19 September 2007

  p. 31: The collapse of Carillion ‘“Recklessness, hubris and greed” – Carillion slammed by MPs’, Guardian, 16 May 2018

  p. 49: Political correctness on US campuses ‘The Rising Hegemony of the Politically Correct’, New York Times, 28 October 1990

  p. 53: Eric Weinstein and the Intellectual Dark Web www.rebelwisdom.co.uk/8-posts/67-inside-the-intellectual-dark-web-with-eric-weinstein

  p. 55: Ron Paul on ‘cultural Marxism’ ‘Ron Paul Slams “Cultural Marxism” with a Quickly Deleted Bigoted Cartoon’, Reason, 2 July 2018

  p. 60: Safe-space rules for UK universities Edinburgh University Students’ Association Safe Space Policy: www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/pageassets/eusapolicy/Edinburgh-University-Students-Association-Safe-Space-Policy(1).pdf

  p. 62: Patriot Prayer in Portland, Oregon www.truthout.org/articles/how-patriot-prayer-is-building-a-violent-far-right-movement-in-portland

  p. 79: Tony Blair: ‘rights and duties go hand in hand’ ‘My Vision for Britain: by Tony Blair’, Guardian, 10 November 2002

  p. 81: Michael Howard on the Human Rights Act ‘Howard Attacks “Unfair” Rights Act’, Evening Standard, 18 March 2005

  p. 82: EU regulation in the UK www.theconversation.com/is-eu-regulation-really-so-bad-for-the-uk-83193

  p. 84: Vote Leave: ‘we can’t block EU laws’ www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/briefing_control.html

  p. 97: Free Trade vs climate change www.desmog.co.uk/2018/08/09/economists-free-trade-meet-independent-experts-ties-climate-science-denial-pushing-no-deal-brexit

  p. 99: Poll of English citizens on local decision-making www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44142843

  About the Author

  Billy Bragg was born in 1957 in Barking, and for over thirty years has been a tireless recording artist, performer, activist and writer.

  Also by the Author

  Roots, Radicals and Rockers:

  How Skiffle Changed the World

  A Lover Sings:

  Selected Lyrics

  The Progressive Patriot

  Copyright

  First published in the UK in 2019

  by Faber & Faber Ltd

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2019

  All rights reserved

  © Billy Bragg, 2019

  Cover design by Faber

  The right of Billy Bragg to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978–0–571–35323–1