You are as eloquent as you are thorough, Professor Snyder. As a longterm subscriber to the Post who earlier cancelled his paper subscription and looks forward to ending his electronic one when the Post jettisoned its open comment system for a Mickey Mouse, AI-moderated nanny bot designed not to "welcome you to the conversation" but to curtail it, I appreciate the post. My take is simpler: I can see (and smell) meaningless, collaborating bullshit at a thousand paces. Not interested in subsidizing it, thanks.
Corbin. Brilliantly articulated! I, like you, sadly and regretfully cancelled my Post subscription when Bezos dropped the hammer on endorsing Kamala Harris. But when they came crawling back offering me a highly discounted digital rate accepted it, mainly because I respected many of the reporters and columnists. I still do but their ranks are shrinking with the departure of people like Jennifer Rubin and Ann Telnaes. What a tragic end to a once highly respected newspaper.
I love T.S.'s early-on sentence here, "Freedom is what distinguishes us from machines." Love it because machines always mean programs, packages, assembly lines, repetition, categories, linear thinking, and everything else useful to piling up units, numbers, stuff, money, body bags and the corpses in them.
All standing behind the convicted criminal at his un-Constitutional 2nd inaugural stood there only as displays of the new U.S. mass vulgarity that now rules. They understand getting rich. They understand taking market share. And stuffing thousands of American communities with the detritus of their off-shoring, union-busting, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and social media algorithms for hate.
Of course I remember when Bezos attested to the public that he’d
basically be controlling editorials. Which negates the whole idea of an editorial. He also abruptly halted the editorial process by refusing to endorse a candidate for president. Control is his mantra. The fact that it’s control in deference to a man who wants to be King in a “ Democracy” tells the story.
I think of Musk when I think of wealthy people who think because of their wealth they” make the rules”.
Determining what freedom is , in fact is attempting to deny freedom. Thank you for your service in assisting us in understanding our freedom .
“Personal liberties and free markets” is a libertarian trope. The problem is that libertarians are all free riders. Libertarianism means nothing outside the context of a social contract; yet the libertarians try to act as if they can opt out of that same social contract. But their form of freedom can exist only where the rest of us adhere to our societal obligations. Nonsense.
Exactly, Colby. Paraphrasing someone famous, the libertarians want to protect some people without constraining them, and to constrain others without protecting them.
In language we have many terms for the many ways we can express things. In public life we have many laws, agencies, regulations, bureaus, departments, precedents, and so on to protect us from the greedy, the maniacally vulgar, the depraved rich wielding chain saws, the stochastic stokers of violence, the spewers of hate, and all the other MAGA.
We need to be good at keeping these public institutions and our language accountable to the people. How good we are is a measure of our freedom. I like the T.S. line here, "The moment that we yield the word "free" to something besides a person, we are yielding our freedom" -- but there's no single moment "we yield the word 'free.'"
This yielding, this surrender, this passivity comes by degrees: how many standardized tests to which we've submitted, how many commercial jingles we've heard, how many fast food franchises we've patronized, how many weeks have passed and we haven't read a whole book, how many times we could have written a letter approaching T.S.'s here and we've surrendered the power in us to get started.
A lot of the nonsense we're seeing comes right out of Atlas Shrugged. I remember the first part of the book was sort of interesting but when it came to the utopian vision of a self-sufficient community where everyone was only in it for themselves...including families, I stopped reading. All I could think was what a load of BS. Obviously it was a city person writing it. Anyone who knows anything about "living off the land" knows better. The rich Trad wife in her long white skirt milking cows is totally bogus.
What also amazes me is that supposed Christians adore the book. Ayn Rand is a total narcissist. It's all about self, self, self... Everything will be great if everyone puts themselves first.
I too am amazed at the number of people who think this is a great book. It is about selfishness becoming a positive attribute for everyone. Makes no sense unless you see it as a reaction to the so called "ideals" of communism.
I was thinking that Ann Rand was reacting to the idea "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". This ended up creating slackers who received the same amount of something as those who worked hard at whatever they were doing. Created a lot of corruption in the system.
As WaPo subscriptions dwindle, we know Bezos cares nothing about it - nor about any of the principles and values outlined here by TS.
The only thing he cares about is greed.
Follow Sen. Bernie Sanders "Fight Oligarchy" tour, which is being covered well by Meidas Touch and others (not msm). Massive turnout. This is his speech in Warren MI. The day before he did a great speech in Kenosha WI. And tonight, he will be in Altoona WI.
It has been absolutely clear to this 73 year old progressive that “libertarian”:was invented as a word so that rich, bigoted assholes didn’t have to describe themselves as totally selfish, entitled bigots.
I have refused to use that code word forever. As you just wrote, there is no such thing as “personal” liberty”…only liberty.
True, and my name for them is glibertarians. They glibly assume their theories will work, and they don’t work any more than Communism worked. Too many think empathy is Communism, and they have no idea what they’re saying.
Excellent points! Frankly, I doubt that Bezos has the intelligence to understand your points. Nor does he have what it takes to publish them. I temporarily cancelled the WaPo after he nixed the editorial. Sadly, it’s time for me to ditch it!
I canceled the Post and moved to The Guardian where there is no Billionaire Bias. They support their excellent journalism through an endowment. They are based in the UK but have a strong US presence. Example from today: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/09/republicans-public-events
I think it's rather the case that Americans as a whole are unfamiliar with this way of thinking. Reagan's first year in office was the beginning of the takeover of the Republican Party by its Libertarian wing. In retrospect, I think that beginning in 1981, their propagandists used Cold War, anti-communist tropes to connect "big government" with socialism and communism in the minds of an already-propagandized people. And because most Americans don't travel and/or follow international news/read international newspapers, they don't know that conservative governments and their citizens all over the world enjoy universal health care. What is more, propagandists in the US were able to connect "government handouts" to an already existing racism and social Darwinism. Whites in the post WWII generation still comfort themselves with the myth that they were able to acquire everything they now have simply by working hard, rather than acknowledging the truth, which is that the American middle class of that period was created by government handouts.
I would add that decades of this propaganda has impoverished the thinking of Americans who believe it, so that their thinking can't cope with nuance. Their conversations about US politics are limited to ready made phrases and ideas. Anyone who's been following American politics for years, including radio, podcasts, TV, and social media, knows all the talking points before they hear them from those who access these media for their "news." Thus they make themselves predictable. If you bring up a particular subject in a conversation with one of them, you already know how they're going to respond before they open their mouth. They tend to think in binaries, as in the odious "both sides" nonsense. It doesn't occur to them that there are more nuanced ways of thinking.
Yeah, Dr. Snyder, so well said. And I'm afraid that your passionate statements of what ought to be undeniable truths, such as that we are not machines and we only exist by virtue of cooperation that begins at birth and extends into old age as evidenced by the existence of such as Medicaid and Social Security will not be understood by someone like Bezos. My bet? Mr. Bezos read Ayn Rand and believed her, even though she was a chain-smoking depressive we really ought to have been pitied for her warped views. Anyone like that won't listen, but the rest of us will.
Good point! A good illustration is the minimum wage. Without laws requiring a minimum wage, the "free market" would determine our "personal liberty" to work all our lives for a wage barely sufficient to sustain our existence.
I totally agree with Professor Snyder on his views. But this time he used too many words for me. I no longer have a young brain that can easily digest the whole of this.
Freedom is like the raw wind. Each if us is free to put up our own wind brake or cooperate with others to build an even better wall.
Thank you Dr. Snyder for expounding your views on freedom in such an eloquent yet easily understandable style. It’s unlikely that Bezos will ever respond to your original query, as I believe that once one achieves their dreams of extreme wealth, their compassion and understanding of issues faced by the plebeians is almost non existent save for a few whose family values they hold dear to their hearts. Even Bezos subtitle of “Democracy dies in darkness” is inappropriate for a man whose responsibility to his readership should be integrity, a quality he is desperately lacking.
And it is why for the first time since I learned to read, 68 years ago, I no longer have a subscription to the Washington Post. Their comic strips were some of the first words I read.
And Anne Telnaes, my favorite among their cartoonists has resigned in protest. I now see her great stuff on substack and have regretfully cancelled my WaPo subscription.
I found it appalling that "copilot" the AI bot that Microsoft introduced into Outlook tried to summarize this article! Another unwelcome intrusion that AI makes, and there is no easy way to get rid of it!
You are as eloquent as you are thorough, Professor Snyder. As a longterm subscriber to the Post who earlier cancelled his paper subscription and looks forward to ending his electronic one when the Post jettisoned its open comment system for a Mickey Mouse, AI-moderated nanny bot designed not to "welcome you to the conversation" but to curtail it, I appreciate the post. My take is simpler: I can see (and smell) meaningless, collaborating bullshit at a thousand paces. Not interested in subsidizing it, thanks.
Corbin. Brilliantly articulated! I, like you, sadly and regretfully cancelled my Post subscription when Bezos dropped the hammer on endorsing Kamala Harris. But when they came crawling back offering me a highly discounted digital rate accepted it, mainly because I respected many of the reporters and columnists. I still do but their ranks are shrinking with the departure of people like Jennifer Rubin and Ann Telnaes. What a tragic end to a once highly respected newspaper.
The rich kill things, Jim.
I love T.S.'s early-on sentence here, "Freedom is what distinguishes us from machines." Love it because machines always mean programs, packages, assembly lines, repetition, categories, linear thinking, and everything else useful to piling up units, numbers, stuff, money, body bags and the corpses in them.
All standing behind the convicted criminal at his un-Constitutional 2nd inaugural stood there only as displays of the new U.S. mass vulgarity that now rules. They understand getting rich. They understand taking market share. And stuffing thousands of American communities with the detritus of their off-shoring, union-busting, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and social media algorithms for hate.
Oligarchy kills, Jim.
Of course I remember when Bezos attested to the public that he’d
basically be controlling editorials. Which negates the whole idea of an editorial. He also abruptly halted the editorial process by refusing to endorse a candidate for president. Control is his mantra. The fact that it’s control in deference to a man who wants to be King in a “ Democracy” tells the story.
I think of Musk when I think of wealthy people who think because of their wealth they” make the rules”.
Determining what freedom is , in fact is attempting to deny freedom. Thank you for your service in assisting us in understanding our freedom .
“Personal liberties and free markets” is a libertarian trope. The problem is that libertarians are all free riders. Libertarianism means nothing outside the context of a social contract; yet the libertarians try to act as if they can opt out of that same social contract. But their form of freedom can exist only where the rest of us adhere to our societal obligations. Nonsense.
Exactly, Colby. Paraphrasing someone famous, the libertarians want to protect some people without constraining them, and to constrain others without protecting them.
Free riders, Colby = parasites.
In language we have many terms for the many ways we can express things. In public life we have many laws, agencies, regulations, bureaus, departments, precedents, and so on to protect us from the greedy, the maniacally vulgar, the depraved rich wielding chain saws, the stochastic stokers of violence, the spewers of hate, and all the other MAGA.
We need to be good at keeping these public institutions and our language accountable to the people. How good we are is a measure of our freedom. I like the T.S. line here, "The moment that we yield the word "free" to something besides a person, we are yielding our freedom" -- but there's no single moment "we yield the word 'free.'"
This yielding, this surrender, this passivity comes by degrees: how many standardized tests to which we've submitted, how many commercial jingles we've heard, how many fast food franchises we've patronized, how many weeks have passed and we haven't read a whole book, how many times we could have written a letter approaching T.S.'s here and we've surrendered the power in us to get started.
It all sounds like Ayn Rand to me.
A lot of the nonsense we're seeing comes right out of Atlas Shrugged. I remember the first part of the book was sort of interesting but when it came to the utopian vision of a self-sufficient community where everyone was only in it for themselves...including families, I stopped reading. All I could think was what a load of BS. Obviously it was a city person writing it. Anyone who knows anything about "living off the land" knows better. The rich Trad wife in her long white skirt milking cows is totally bogus.
What also amazes me is that supposed Christians adore the book. Ayn Rand is a total narcissist. It's all about self, self, self... Everything will be great if everyone puts themselves first.
Ayn Rand was a devout atheist.
Characters in her books do not have children. It’s a convenient way to avoid any responsibility or concern for anyone but one’s own self.
True. She worshipped herself and expected her cult to worship her.
How about the rich Trad wife who goes to the presidential inauguration in just her bra?
I too am amazed at the number of people who think this is a great book. It is about selfishness becoming a positive attribute for everyone. Makes no sense unless you see it as a reaction to the so called "ideals" of communism.
Any set of abstractions, Lillian, can equal "the so called 'ideals' of communism."
That's why standardized testing so heavily tilts to recognizing sets of categories, sets of abstractions, sets of groups.
That's also why the zombie rich so heavily organized to have that testing replace humanities in schools.
I was thinking that Ann Rand was reacting to the idea "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs". This ended up creating slackers who received the same amount of something as those who worked hard at whatever they were doing. Created a lot of corruption in the system.
Yes. She was reacting to the Russian version of communism, which was very corrupt. I think Orwell did a much better job with Animal House.
Excellent. Don't hold your breath waiting to hear that the WaPo will publish that.
As WaPo subscriptions dwindle, we know Bezos cares nothing about it - nor about any of the principles and values outlined here by TS.
The only thing he cares about is greed.
Follow Sen. Bernie Sanders "Fight Oligarchy" tour, which is being covered well by Meidas Touch and others (not msm). Massive turnout. This is his speech in Warren MI. The day before he did a great speech in Kenosha WI. And tonight, he will be in Altoona WI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-oTojJgaFI&t=26s
Mr. Snyder,
It has been absolutely clear to this 73 year old progressive that “libertarian”:was invented as a word so that rich, bigoted assholes didn’t have to describe themselves as totally selfish, entitled bigots.
I have refused to use that code word forever. As you just wrote, there is no such thing as “personal” liberty”…only liberty.
Keep up the good work.
True, and my name for them is glibertarians. They glibly assume their theories will work, and they don’t work any more than Communism worked. Too many think empathy is Communism, and they have no idea what they’re saying.
Excellent points! Frankly, I doubt that Bezos has the intelligence to understand your points. Nor does he have what it takes to publish them. I temporarily cancelled the WaPo after he nixed the editorial. Sadly, it’s time for me to ditch it!
Yes Bonnie,
I canceled the Post and moved to The Guardian where there is no Billionaire Bias. They support their excellent journalism through an endowment. They are based in the UK but have a strong US presence. Example from today: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/09/republicans-public-events
Best read this weekend -
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/08/being-putins-stooge-wont-win-trump-a-peace-prize-the-order-of-lenin-though-is-in-the-bag
I think it's rather the case that Americans as a whole are unfamiliar with this way of thinking. Reagan's first year in office was the beginning of the takeover of the Republican Party by its Libertarian wing. In retrospect, I think that beginning in 1981, their propagandists used Cold War, anti-communist tropes to connect "big government" with socialism and communism in the minds of an already-propagandized people. And because most Americans don't travel and/or follow international news/read international newspapers, they don't know that conservative governments and their citizens all over the world enjoy universal health care. What is more, propagandists in the US were able to connect "government handouts" to an already existing racism and social Darwinism. Whites in the post WWII generation still comfort themselves with the myth that they were able to acquire everything they now have simply by working hard, rather than acknowledging the truth, which is that the American middle class of that period was created by government handouts.
I would add that decades of this propaganda has impoverished the thinking of Americans who believe it, so that their thinking can't cope with nuance. Their conversations about US politics are limited to ready made phrases and ideas. Anyone who's been following American politics for years, including radio, podcasts, TV, and social media, knows all the talking points before they hear them from those who access these media for their "news." Thus they make themselves predictable. If you bring up a particular subject in a conversation with one of them, you already know how they're going to respond before they open their mouth. They tend to think in binaries, as in the odious "both sides" nonsense. It doesn't occur to them that there are more nuanced ways of thinking.
Yeah, Dr. Snyder, so well said. And I'm afraid that your passionate statements of what ought to be undeniable truths, such as that we are not machines and we only exist by virtue of cooperation that begins at birth and extends into old age as evidenced by the existence of such as Medicaid and Social Security will not be understood by someone like Bezos. My bet? Mr. Bezos read Ayn Rand and believed her, even though she was a chain-smoking depressive we really ought to have been pitied for her warped views. Anyone like that won't listen, but the rest of us will.
You mean old age & Medicare, right?
Billionaires' tyranny defined by Bezos. Accurately defined here by the brilliant Timothy Snyder.
Good point! A good illustration is the minimum wage. Without laws requiring a minimum wage, the "free market" would determine our "personal liberty" to work all our lives for a wage barely sufficient to sustain our existence.
What a fine essay, Prof. Snyder.
I totally agree with Professor Snyder on his views. But this time he used too many words for me. I no longer have a young brain that can easily digest the whole of this.
Freedom is like the raw wind. Each if us is free to put up our own wind brake or cooperate with others to build an even better wall.
Thank you Dr. Snyder for expounding your views on freedom in such an eloquent yet easily understandable style. It’s unlikely that Bezos will ever respond to your original query, as I believe that once one achieves their dreams of extreme wealth, their compassion and understanding of issues faced by the plebeians is almost non existent save for a few whose family values they hold dear to their hearts. Even Bezos subtitle of “Democracy dies in darkness” is inappropriate for a man whose responsibility to his readership should be integrity, a quality he is desperately lacking.
Exactly!
And it is why for the first time since I learned to read, 68 years ago, I no longer have a subscription to the Washington Post. Their comic strips were some of the first words I read.
And Anne Telnaes, my favorite among their cartoonists has resigned in protest. I now see her great stuff on substack and have regretfully cancelled my WaPo subscription.
I finally unsubscribed this month.
I found it appalling that "copilot" the AI bot that Microsoft introduced into Outlook tried to summarize this article! Another unwelcome intrusion that AI makes, and there is no easy way to get rid of it!
AI is about as popular now as the old Microsoft paper clip with its little blinking eyes...
Hilarious--thanks!
Wonderful essay. Scary, but wonderful. I cancelled my WAPO subscription right after the election.
Thank you for this and for all your work for democracy against authoritarianism.