Freedom ( Non - fiction )

By : George Bernard Shaw

Detailed Summary with Highlighted
Themes :-
“Freedom” is a nonfictional essay by George
Bernard Shaw and this essay is basically the
textual version of the radio broadcast that
was delivered by him in 1935 .
The Definition Of Perfect or Absolute
Freedom :-
Shaw started the essay by questioning that
“What is a perfectly free person?” He then
answered this question by claiming that a
truly free person is the one who can do
whatever he likes , wherever he likes and
whenever he like and he may even choose
to do nothing .
The Obligations Of Nature and Society
Leading to an Obstruction in the Absolute
Freedom Of Man :-
But according to Shaw , this perfect
definition of freedom is merely an illusion
because no individual on this earth is truly
free . Whether a person holds the position
of a monarch (that is, the person belongs to
the rich and privileged section of the
society ) or a person is merely a
labourer ( that is , the person belongs to
the underprivileged section of the society ) ,
he will definitely have to spend time in
fulfilling the basic necessities of life like
eating , drinking , sleeping and washing .
Also , the human beings necessarily need to
produce food , clothing and
accommodation (housing) facilities in order
to sustain themselves comfortably . Hence ,
it is merely an illusion that the human
beings can live in absolute freedom .
The Dual Enslavement Of Women :-
Women , in the society , are in a more
disadvantageous position as they have to
bear children in order to carry their
generation forward , along with performing
the mundane household chores. Therefore ,
the entire humankind is bound to be
enslaved in the trap of these daily
necessities and societal obligations , which
makes the idea of perfect freedom as a
mere piece of imagination for human
beings .
The Exploitation Of The Poor Labourers By
the Rich Class of the Society :-
Shaw then talks about the hard work that
has to be done by the labourers in the
process of cultivating food on the lands of
the rich people . Shaw calls it as the worst
form of slavery as the labourers are made
to work very hard , without any relaxation
and they are not even given a decent
amount of share out of the cultivated crops
or food . Shaw highlights the fact that the
poor people like labourers are often
exploited by the rich section of the society .
Even the government favours the rich ,
exploitative people in the society instead of
rescuing the poor labourers out of slavery .
The Flawed Democratic System :-
Shaw even criticizes the so called
“democratic system of electing the
government”. According to Shaw, there is
barely any choice in the hands of the voters
in a democratic election because the
candidates who seek leadership mostly
belong to the rich class of the society .
Whosoever, out of those rich candidates,
get appointed as a leader , ultimately takes
no action for the welfare of the poor
section of the society . The poor people
continue to get overworked and their
exploitation by the rich people of the
society never comes to an end .
The False Portrayal of Democracy By
Media :-
Although the media portrays the
democratic elections in a very positive
light , yet there are no positive outcomes of
such elections in practicality. But
unfortunately , the citizens of the country
are often fooled by the positive portrayal of
the democratic election by media .
The Difference Between the Slavery of Man
to Nature and the Slavery of Man to Man :-
Shaw then points out the difference
between the slavery of man to nature and
the slavery of man to man . Shaw glorifies
the slavery of man to nature and proclaims
that the acts like drinking , sleeping ,
eating and raising a family , which are the
outcomes of the slavery of man to nature ,
ultimately turn out to be pleasurable for
man . On the contrary , the slavery of man
to man turns out to be exploitative ,
oppressive and degrading .
Assertion Of Karl Marx and Thomas More
To Put an end To Slavery :-
Shaw then talks about Karl Mark ( a socialist
revolutionary and an economist ) who
realized that the only way to ensure the
welfare of the lower section of the society
was to put an end to slavery . Shaw further
talks about Thomas More ( a saint ) whose
perceptions about slavery were similar to
Karl Marx . Thomas More too claimed that
all the individuals must do their share of
work themselves , without being given any
opportunity of putting the burden of their
work on someone else .
The Role Of Parliament , Schools and
Newspapers in Brainwashing the Public :-
Shaw further asserted the fact that the
institutions like the Parliament , schools and
the newspapers are used by the exploiting
“master class ” to brainwash the general
public , especially, the poor and the
powerless to believe that everything is fair
in society and everyone enjoys the optimal
degree of freedom . If some people still
claim that the poor are often at a
disadvantage in the society , the
exploitative class of the society draws the
attention of those people towards the
various welfare measures (like free
education) , that are designed by the
government for the welfare of the poor
people . When the poor people express
their grief for being exploited and enslaved ,
the government justifies their sorrowful
state by claiming that the rich people also
go through difficulties as they have to pay
huge taxes out of their incomes . However ,
nobody pays heed to the fact that the poor
people are made to work tirelessly and a
large amount of their wages is spent in
paying rents .

The Unjustifiable Structure Of The Society

Leading to Psychological Superiority in the
Rich Class :-
This structure of the society that always
favours the rich, exploitative and privileged
class and denies equal rights to the poor
class , makes the members of the rich class
feel that they are naturally entitled to go to
elite schools , get reputed jobs with
extravagant remuneration and have a high
status in society . Consequently , the
members of the rich class find the poor
living conditions and the pitiable state of
the poor class of the society as acceptable .
However , the poor class of the society is
never able to accept the idea of being
oppressed by the rich . But any resentment
by the poor is curbed by the rich class that
always receives cooperation from the
government .

The Ironical Portrayal of The Necessity Of

Slavery :-
Ironically , after criticizing the rich class and
the elected government for enslaving the
poor people , Shaw abruptly claims that
slavery is indispensable (absolutely
necessary ) for the smooth working of a
society . Shaw then talks about Aristotle
who proposed a similar view . Aristotle also
believed that slavery is essential for running
governments efficiently . Shaw claims that
the unprivileged people choose only the
well dressed , powerful , rich and polished
people as their leaders instead of choosing
a leader from their own fraternity . This
means that it is human nature to perceive
only fascinating personalities as leaders .
This leads to the creation of a superior class
in the society that is always meant to rule
and an inferior class that is always meant to
be ruled . Hence, for the existence of the
superior, rich and exploitative lords in the
society , the existence of the inferior, poor
and exploited slaves is inevitably necessary .
The Inevitability Of Slavery and The
Consequences of Disobeying Slavery :-
Finally , Shaw sums up his arguments by
claiming that man can never be truly free
because nature governs twelve hours of
man’s life in which man is supposed to
perform the necessary functions like
eating , drinking , sleeping and washing in
order to fulfill his physical requirements . In
the remaining twelve hours , man is
required to work for himself in his own
fields or for his employer in order to earn a
living . Hence , the idea of freedom is
illusionistic for the mankind as the mankind
is bound to follow the constraints enforced
by nature as well as the civilized
(man - made ) society . In fact, in a civilized
society , disobedience of laws and rules by
digressive (an act of going against the
rules ) men lead to their imprisonment and
in extreme cases , it may even lead to their
execution (the act of putting to death) .
The Positive Outcomes Of Reasonable
Laws :-
However , Shaw claims that if the laws of
the society are reasonable , then those laws
are likely to protect the mankind against
assault , robbery and oppression .
The Exploitative Tendency Of Landlords
And Employers :-
Then , Shaw laments (an expression of grief
or sadness) that in the present society , the
landlords and the employers are often
exploitative . If one is a tenant , one may be
forced by his landlord to practice a certain
religion , cultivate hobbies desirable by the
landlord , vote for a candidate of the
landlord’s choice and restrict himself from
using the rented home for commercial
purposes . Similarly, the employers decide
the uniform , the work duration and the job
tenure of his employees . The employer can
even dismiss the employee from his service
at any point of time, without measuring the
adverse impact that it might have on the
employee .

The Utility of Leisurely Hours :-

Shaw then claims that if man works for
eight hours instead of twelve hours, then he
will be left with four hours of freedom in
which he can do anything according to his
own desires . He may spend those four
hours in reading a book , watching a movie
or any other leisurely activity . However , if
his work hours had been very exhaustive ,
then he is left with no other option except
relaxing in those hours .

Leisure as the synonym of Freedom :-

Shaw then claims that the prevalent politics
needs to be radically changed in order to
make true freedom accessible to ordinary
people of the society . Till then, we should
stop celebrating our freedom as it is hollow
and deceptive . Shaw suggests that leisure
is the nearest equivalent word of freedom .
People must demand more money and
more scope for leisure in exchange of a
reasonable amount of work . Till the Britons
(citizens of Britain) achieve monetary
satisfaction for the work services done by
them and scope for utilizing their money for
leisurely activities , they must stop
chanting , ‘Rule Britannia’.

Politician As An Oppressive Anarchist :-

Shaw then criticizes the political system of
the society as it paves way for the
exploitation of the ordinary people . In fact ,
Shaw states that the politician is often an
anarchist (one who disregards laws) who
deserves to be executed for misusing the
law in order to oppress people for serving
his own selfish motives .
The Need Of Education To Teach People
About the Appropriate Usage Of Money :-
Shaw then thinks that excess of money
might be destructive for some people if
they misuse their money and indulge in
sinful ways of attaining leisure . Therefore,
Shaw proposes the need of educating
people so that they can make appropriate
use of their abundant money .

The Two Working Options Given To The

Listeners :-
Towards the closure of the essay , Shaw
leaves his listeners with two options : either
they can choose to work for eight hours in a
day with an extravagant income and with a
scope to retire at the age of forty – five or
they can choose to work for four hours in a
day with no scope of retirement till the age
of seventy . Shaw asks his listeners to tell
about their choice to their wives. On this
note, the essay comes to an end .

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