Medary.com

Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey comments on the "freedom movement," in a story posted at the Ludwig von Mises Institute:

"The freedom movement remains a small, relatively unimportant movement in the United States today," he writes. "As a businessman who knows something about marketing and branding, I can tell you the freedom movement is branding itself very poorly."

By incorrect branding, Mackey means that too much emphasis about individual freedom has been focused on side issues, such as the legalization of drugs, and not enough on the big picture. Instead, he maintains, if it's to have any chance of having a mass appeal, the freedom movement will have to consciously create a broad and inspiring vision, an idealism that addresses the direct correlation between economic freedom and societal progress.

The freedom movement, libertarians, and free market economists, he writes, have done a poor job of defending the social legitimacy of business, economic freedom, capitalism, individualism and free markets. The message should be that business, working through free markets, has arguably been the world's greatest force for human progress and our collective well-being, delivering increased prosperity, less poverty, extended longevity and democratic freedoms.

I've wondered about this for a long time.  How can freedom and liberty, two bedrock foundations of our country and fundamental principles of classical liberal Western civilization, be so horribly, completely misunderstood by so many people for such a long time?  How does a dangerous concept like "fairness" come to be more respected than "liberty?"

Hat tip:  FreeRepublic.