How Europe can rediscover freedom

The freer a society, the greater its potential for wealth and human flourishing. This was obvious during Europe's Belle Époque, but can today's Europeans rediscover this truth? There is an aching need for a return to greater freedom. Yet statism – the belief in an extensive role for the state in society – has prevailed in the battle of ideas, and most people therefore seem unable to recognise that many of the crises now engulfing Europe are the product of decades of illiberal policies and state interventionism.

Statism as the prevailing political opinion

The majority generally holds opinions based on convenience rather than conviction. People do not support freedom, because it is no longer the 'conventional wisdom' in Europe. The majority now supports statism out of habit, not from a strong ideological conviction in the moral necessity of an expansive state, as true socialists do, but because this position aligns with the prevailing orthodoxy.

The statist stance of the average European is, therefore, rarely ideological; it is merely a useful ad hoc position in his personal and professional life. There is a clear advantage to blending in and thereby avoiding the ostracism produced by what J. S. Mill called the 'tyranny of the majority'.

The resistance to ideas of freedom is not only social, however; it is also intellectual, because the free market is less easily understood without reflection when state interventionism is taken as the norm. The straightforward argument of 'laissez-faire, laissez-passer', classical liberalism's rallying cry, rarely convinces nowadays in a statist society. Instead, statist interventionism is an emotionally satisfying, yet intellectually lazy, economically inefficient and morally unjust 'solution' to social 'problems'.

Further, studies have suggested that individual political orientation is associated not only with social and cultural influences, but also with measurable differences in cognitive style and even brain structure. Thomas Sowell approached the same question from a different perspective in "A Conflict of Visions" (1987), arguing that persistent political divisions ultimately reflect fundamentally different conceptions of human nature and the possibilities of social organization.

While this is naturally frustrating for those who defend freedom, the above also presents an opportunity: if political opinions are often held merely as a matter of convenience and habit, they are not always so firmly fixed in people's minds and could, therefore, be dissolved and replaced by ideas of liberty if conditions were right.

The three axes of freedom

A move towards freedom means bringing the growth of the modern state to an end and reducing its innumerable interventions in society. This task can seem daunting, not only because of the general support that exists for statism, but also because of the state's structural tendencies towards self-preservation, expansion, and resistance to market discipline, as Ludwig von Mises analysed in his work "Bureaucracy" (1944).

There are three axes along which the power of the state can be reduced: deregulation, decentralisation, and privatisation. As many sectors of the economy as possible should be freed from state involvement (deregulation), political decisions should be taken as locally as possible (decentralisation), and as much activity as possible should be removed from the public sector and subjected to competition (privatisation).

These goals should primarily be pursued nationally, since each European society has its own political tradition. Although the EU formally promotes subsidiarity and has at times encouraged greater economic freedom, its tendency towards greater centralisation runs counter to this principle. Greater freedom from centralised EU authority should therefore form part of Europe's move towards freedom.

What is to be done?

Here are eight strategies for challenging Europe's prevailing statist consensus:

1. Convince a minority, not a majority. It would be discouraging to think that a real majority is needed to move societies towards freedom. A double-digit minority can be enough to have a major political and cultural impact in the firmly statist societies of Europe.
2. Focus on youth. Young adults are relatively open and receptive to ideas of freedom, while political convictions tend to become more settled with age. Focus on joining and strengthening libertarian student organisations.
3. Expand the definition of property rights. These rights are both misunderstood and undervalued today. The concept must be shown to encompass the erosion of property through taxation and monetary inflation. Young workers and consumers should recognise, emotionally if not intellectually, the extent to which their property rights are constantly being violated by the state.
4. Use utilitarian arguments, not moral ones. For average people to embrace freedom, it is preferable to appeal to utilitarian benefits rather than to moral arguments, which are not a priority for most. Higher incomes, easier entrepreneurship, more innovation and rising living standards are much more immediate and persuasive arguments than abstract moral principles.
5. Recognise passive resistance. Withdrawing political support can also be a powerful form of passive resistance, especially when that support is withdrawn from the state. As Étienne de La Boétie wrote in "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude" (1548): 'Resolve, then, to serve no longer, and you will be free. I do not ask that you strike at [the tyrant], or shake him, but merely that you cease to support him; and you will see him—like a great colossus whose base has been stolen away—collapse under his own weight and shatter.'
6. Local politics first. Attention should initially be given to building pro-liberty parties through local and municipal elections, where even small successes can resonate nationally in the age of social media. Only later should the focus shift to regional and national elections.
7. Use the coming crisis. Europe's multiple crises are fundamentally linked to declining freedom and overbearing statism and will therefore create opportunities to advance the ideas of freedom. More people will listen to the arguments for freedom.
8. Organise like socialists. Without replicating the spark and fervour of left-wing parties, success for the ideas of freedom will be difficult. It will require volunteers organising meetings, giving talks, sharing ideas across digital platforms, and campaigning both online and in their local communities.

If these strategies can gain momentum in Europe, the message of freedom will start to resonate across the continent, as the crisis deepens over the next years. Decades of ever-intensifying statism are approaching a reckoning; the defenders of freedom must be ready when the opportunity to change public opinion comes.