According to Morpheus, the Matrix is an overarching cage built from all aspects of society, which systematically controls and suppresses humanity into a power source. But does the "system" of the matrix really take away freedom?
The people in the Matrix seem reasonably happy, and America at least is unchanged. Neo talks about his right to a lawyer when he is being interrogated, and this most likely holds true for the rights of voting, religion, speech, assembly, etc. The residents of the matrix believe they are free, because the system fools them into thinking so.
This is a common tool in business, where products like clothing with customized wording, or mix you own fountain drink stations "empower" consumers to chose their personal experience- as long as they pay the right price and go to the right company.
Despite its irony, a constructed freedom like this can have actual validity. Someone in the matrix more choice in clothes, food, education, housing, entertainment, and basically every other aspect of human experience than someone in the wasteland outside.
Morpheus and his crew are shown to be wearing threadbare, indistinguishable clothes and eating the same food each day. They must constantly be on the move and there is little time for relaxation. This is an abrupt departure from their flashy clothes within the Matrix or Ciphers steak dinner.
So the system of the Matrix does give more choice. It just turns out that the choices are either fake or not well informed. Despite voting and buying, the people in the matrix have no freedom in whether they are ruled by computers and plugged into a machine. They cannot make the choice because they do not know it exists.
Is freedom then, having sole control of our own existence? If this is the case then the Matrix certainly works against freedom. This is true for systems in general as well.
Our government works so that the control over our own life is never actually in our hands, despite democratic elections. Instead it is at any time partially in either control of a few representatives or in the control of the majority.
This control of the elite or the majority operates in business as well. The elite are the psuedo-monopolies, who exert control over basic prices and standards. The majority are what counts in order to make a profit, they exert the most demand and gain the most attention.
I am thus forced out of control; I have to had over some of my freedom to those who make up the system. But there is a different definition of freedom as well. Freedom can also be measured as the availability of choices.
Even if I have control I may not have much choice. This is the case in the world outside of the Matrix. The Matrix actually supports a wider range of choice, as I mentioned before.
The same is true for large, systemized economies, where specialization of labor leads to options in employment and an open market leads to options in consumption. And government allows for you to chose a doctrine that perhaps you personally hadnt heard of, or werent able to fully work out; this is through the choice of elected officials.
A system of culture or religion expose you to more beliefs and experiences than you would have otherwise learned of, and allows you to chose a ncihe for yourself. At the same time though, these cultural and religious systems subtlely influence your perception, generally through peer pressure. They are also systems which reduce control.
The question becomes what is freedom, choice or control? One is generally supported by well-managed systems, and the other is eroded no matter what.
This question is relevant in the argument over small versus big government, or spirituality versus organized religion. It is echoed in the still ongoing process of industrialization, and in the struggle between sites like facebook and the concept of the internet as a random collection of indepedent blogs and isolated chatrooms.
The definition of freedom, and its relationship to sytems, will have to be addressed at some point. Especially as we approach the technological growth neccesessary for a matrix-like program to exist.
Nina, this was a very well written, thought-provoking blog entry. I really enjoyed reading this.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that struck me about this essay is how much it seemed to relate to one of Jacob L's posts from a while back regarding determinism and free will. Both of them seemed to deal with the same issue of whether or not we actually have freedom to choose our own path in life. I personally believe there is a distinction to be made.
One of the problems we run into when we try to analyze this is whether freedom is having total control over our lives or having the ability to make some choices of how our lives are run. I think that freedom would be the latter, with the former being described as autonomy.
Autonomy would not only be far more difficult to attain, but, as you mentioned in your blog entry, it would be a far more austere and difficult life than one without autonomy, but with freedom. In a way, the Matrix thus relates to a work we read by John Donne last year, in which he says that "No man is an island."
Everybody does have some connection to the rest of the world that is necessary for their way of life, and it cannot be easily shed. However, that does not make it bad. One can argue that civilization is simply the act of giving up autonomy for a much more pleasant lifestyle.
Even the Matrix alludes to this when Neo doesn't respond ot Morpheus asking "Even if you could go back, would you?"
Very nicely done, Nina.
Hi Nina!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic post. You've really captured the essence of the "Dialectics" prompt with the way you bounce two ideas off of each other to get new ones (kind of like the LHC.) Anyway, your post raises an interesting question about the dynamic between choice and freedom. If we have, as you discussed, the ability to make choices, from meals to marriage, we may or may not necessarily be "free." But what, then, is the purpose of freedom? If we're able to make ourselves happy through our own decisions, isn't freedom just a meaningless, impractical notion?
Now let us examine what it means to be "free", based on your observations. You talk about how institutions like government and religion influence our minds, reducing the control we have over our beliefs. Yet, how much does that mental autonomy actually factor into our freedom? Should we feel restricted because government schools teach us nothing about Canadian history? If a friend invites me to their church service, should I question my liberty? I think not. Yes, we are influenced by countless factors throughout our lives, but, at the end of the day, we feel free. Perhaps we don't have total control over our lives, but that can be just as limiting. As Mr. Allen said during our poetry unit, the most liberating and creative expressions start with a given framework. Our freedom is based not upon our situations, but within our minds.
Thanks for a very stimulating post, Nina.
-Atticus
Nina discussed freedom in the Matrix and argued that it is a very nebulous concept that can have many meanings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nina’s characterization of freedom in the Matrix. Since there is no objective way to quantify freedom, it is what we want it to be. Indeed, it does seem that the Matrix is a “more free” system. As David Mitsuo Nixon argues in _The Matrix Possibility_ and Nina in her blog, it would be in the Machines’ interest for the made-up reality of the Matrix to be a democratic system with freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, expression, etc. in order to prevent a true human uprising. Even that, though, might be permitted. Humans could criticize and even “overthrow” the Machines within the confines of the Matrix, provided the “revolution” existed only in the simulated reality. As long as humanity remained plugged in, the content of their dreams was irrelevant. If delusions of power and influence made humans happier, then that’s what the Matrix would deliver. Indeed, since each person was separately plugged in, each could believe he is she is the President.
This begs the question: is “freedom” a matter of perception or reality? If we are free to think, pray, believe, and act (in a virtual reality, of course) in whatever way we choose, why aren’t we free? From this point of view, the Matrix is an ACLU ready-made utopia. All of the most divisive issues of our time — abortion, gay marriage, healthcare, affirmative action, taxes — could be resolved as each person could live in a world that endorses his or her values. Instead, if freedom can only be judged by an objective third-party, the Matrix is undeniably a living hell. From this perspective, humans are suffering from a delusion of massive proportions. Proponents of this view would argue that even if one prisoner in a jail is given responsibility over the others, they are all still prisoners.
To me, it seems that there is no clear answer. While “objectively” the Matrix has enslaved humans to serve the Machines’ ends, I can’t think of a reason why a world where I _think_ I’m free and can act freely, at least in my own personal reality, isn’t actually free.