Hello, I am Theodor Adorno, a philosopher and social critic.
I once observed:
“People have so manipulated the concept of freedom that it finally boils down to the right of the stronger and richer to take from the weaker and poorer whatever they still have.”
These words capture a disturbing distortion of freedom—a concept that, at its core, should serve as a force for equality and justice. When I made this statement, it was in the shadow of the Second World War and the rise of global capitalism. I saw firsthand how ideals such as liberty and freedom could be twisted into tools of exploitation. What was once the promise of individual dignity became an excuse for unchecked power. Those with wealth and influence used “freedom” as a shield to justify the oppression and dispossession of the most vulnerable. This perversion of freedom is not new, nor has it disappeared. Today, we see its effects everywhere. In modern economies, the rhetoric of free markets is often used to concentrate power in the hands of a few. Under the guise of freedom, corporations expand their reach, stripping resources from communities, exploiting labor, and leaving the weakest to bear the costs. This is not freedom—it is domination masquerading as liberty.
Share this post