Freedom
Transforming and Managing Anxiety: I. The Nature of Containment
In this essay I look specifically at the derailment into authoritarianism and at the multiple ways in which this derailment can be avoided—in favor of the construction and engagement of a wide variety of containers that enable the transformation to take place. It is in the identification of viable containers that we begin to find the pathway toward true freedom.
The Nature of True Freedom III: Creating A Shared Image of the Future
Positive freedom to do something, in turn, is sustained only if a society has defined or is in the process of continually defining and redefining a clear and exhilarating image of its own purpose and, in particular, its own future.
The Nature of True Freedom II: Harmony of Interests
I provide an economic and commerce-based perspective, suggesting that true freedom might reside in something called the “harmony of interests.”
The Nature of True Freedom I: Balancing Personal Rights and Collective Responsibilities
I propose that true freedom requires a balancing between a concern for individual personal rights and a concern for collective, shared responsibility.
Authority, Identification and Nationalism: The Future of Freedom in Estonia
Authoritarianism was evident in the passivity of Estonian men and women as learners and as architects of their own personal and collective futures during the early1990s. Like many Eastern European countries (and many other countries for that matter) Estonia has traditionally been ruled by authoritarian hierarchies imposed from outside. What about today?
Authoritarianism and the Escape from Freedom
The lingering ghost of authoritarianism in Eastern Europe that Berne Weiss and I identified during the early 1990s (Bergquist and Weiss, 1994) was tragically prescient. This ghost is still haunting many 21st Century countries throughout the world.
The New Freedom: Living with Hope, Skepticism and Irony
Both hope and skepticism were to be found in Estonia (and Hungary) during the early 1990s, following the Soviet collapse. Are both of these perspectives still present and do they represent the more pervasive irony that is to be found in contemporary societies?
Free at Last: Challenges Facing Those Who Are “Liberated”
The issue of freedom is certainly of great importance right now in our troubled and changing world. The insights gained from my Estonian colleagues still seem quite poignant and timely.
Freedom: From Collectivist to Individualist Structures and Realities
I frequently listen to classical music while I am working and in the evening before going to bed. The music …
How to Turn Loneliness into a Multi-Trillion Dollar Business: A Perspective on China from the Writings of Erich Fromm
This essay specifically focuses on the writings of Erich Fromm from a social application perspective, using China’s Singles Day as an example.