What is freedom?

The recent Supreme Court decision that allows people who have been arrested to have a sample of DNA taken has caused a lot of controversy. Does this help or hinder "freedom"? We hear all the time on TV about "our freedoms" and always in the context that they are a "good thing". It was alleged that al Qaeda hated us for "our freedoms". So I pose the question "What is freedom?" On one level freedom is obvious, but in reality it's a lot more complicated. In the US, we have been taught to believe that we live in a "free society". Is this the result of indoctrination, wishful thinking, or examination of the facts?

I think we can fairly say that in comparison to the old USSR or to North Korea, we are a free society. I can't imagine anyone arguing with that. But what if we compare ourselves to Europe or Australia or Canada - are we freer than they are or not? I assert that depends very much on your definition of freedom. On the face of it, we would appear to be less free. After all, the incarceration rate in the "land of the free" is higher than any peer with which we would wish to be compared. At 5% pf the world's population we have 25% of the prisoners. So clearly, larger numbers of Americans are less free then their counterparts in Europe, etc. And by less free in this context, I am not comparing the quality of freedom, but that Americans are actually incarcerated which is unarguably less free than not being in prison.

But are people in the US otherwise free from government intervention and control. Again, no. The US government actually prohibits its citizens, for example, from visiting Cuba. Most governments might warn their citizens against travel to certain countries, advising them that consular aid may not be available or that governments are known to be hostile. But a government of free citizens can hardly prohibit travel, and yet the US does. So it's far from obvious that people in the US are freer or less free than their counterparts.

As I see it there are two distinct forms of freedom - the freedom to and the freedom from. So deciding relative freedoms involves balancing the weight of freedom to and freedom from. And this is where the US has distinctly more freedom to, but the Europeans, Canadians and Australians have more freedom from. So, for example, in the "less free" nations you are unlikely to be sitting in your house and just randomly murdered by drive-by shooting or some random gang violence, or even in a home invasion. But this is achieved by restricting the freedom to buy as many guns of any types as you like. In reality, I think most of us, within reason, prefer freedom from things. We like that people aren't allowed to be a nuisance, or that people aren't allowed to build really ugly buildings within inches of our own homes. Some people will see it as an infringement of liberties that they aren't allowed to have a raucous party in the middle of the street at 2 am.

So what about taking DNA samples? I can't see that this is fundamentally any different from taking fingerprints or even taking a mug shot. That mug shot or fingerprint stays on file forever and is used to see if prints found at a crime scene match someone previously arrested. Now, it's true that this does seriously impact your freedom to murder people, since it does mean that you are more likely now to be apprehended. So this might act as a deterrent. On the other hand, insofar as it does act as a deterrent, this could significantly increase your freedom from, freedom from rape and murder. So, on balance, I support this decision. The fact that Antonin Scalia dissents may be the most compelling reason of all to support it.