As documented numerous times, a growing number of Americans today believe that freedom is the ability of individuals and organizations to do what they want, when they want, no matter how it affects other people, communities, or the natural environment.[i] This concept is arguably an underlying driver of the climate-ecosystem-biodiversity (C-E-B) crisis.[ii] This crisis, in turn, is contributing to a global mental health crisis.[iii] Thus, an essential step in reversing both crises would be to shift from the harmful view of freedom to a regenerative perspective.

I experienced harmful freedom firsthand during the COVID-19 pandemic when visiting a rural town in Oregon where most residents refused to distance themselves or wear masks to reduce the chances of spreading the deadly virus. When asked why, most said they were not responsible for the health of others, and they would not abide by any government health recommendation that limited their freedom to do as they want.

Another example of the notion of harmful freedom occurred not long ago in my hometown, where a private logging corporation found ways to gerrymander local land use regulations and clearcut hundreds of acres of forest near a community college. When challenged, they proclaimed that the government was the problem, not them, and they did it not for profit but because the land was needed for housing.

I was recently reminded of these incidents after watching a politician's TV ad that claimed their opponent was an “environmentalist” who “threatened our personal freedom.”

These examples illustrate how the concept of freedom has been twisted by many individuals, corporations, and politicians today into a creed that claims that any limits on their actions infringe upon their freedom.[iv] This ideology of extreme individualist freedom rebuffs responsibility for the harm their actions cause to other people or communities, and to the health of the earth’s climate, ecological systems, and biodiversity that all life depends on.[v]

It is no surprise that people who claim this type of freedom demand independence from any limits imposed by the government. It is also not surprising that they claim the right to take from, alter, and in other ways impact nature in any way they desire.[vi] Under the rubric of freedom, this doctrine is grounded in the fantasy that their actions have no........

© Psychology Today