<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/may/11/trump-choice-freedom-restrictions>
"Freedom of choice is a venerable American value. Donald Trump’s attachment to
it is, however, highly selective.
Over the first four months of his administration, Trump has been eagerly
promoting the expansion of choice in our economic lives. That’s especially the
case when it comes to our role as consumers. Think kitchens, baths and
automobiles; the stated goal every time he talks about commodities has been
increasing the number of options so we can select and buy what we like best –
environmental effects notwithstanding. Even his tariffs are only supposed to
bring temporary pain, as in emptier toy shelves, before American-made abundance
starts to rule the day once again.
In our political lives, though, it’s a different story: the president and his
administration have been busy instituting new restrictions on both the
possibilities on offer and the picking itself. As citizens rather than
consumers, we’ve been explicitly told our options are permanently contracting
to “save our country”. No longer, for example, should it be possible to share
“radical, anti-American ideologies” in our classrooms or decide how we want to
be addressed.
As a result, our economic and political existences are now on rapidly diverging
paths – with questions about what choice is good for, where it counts, and who
is in charge of the menu at the core. What we are seeing is the emergence of a
new kind of authoritarianism that still pays homage to libertarianism, but only
in the realm of consumer choice."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
