This is certainly true. But is a person ready for freedom and what does he understand by it? Here you can already feel the underwater rock - very treacherous and dangerous.
For some, the events of ancient history are romantic. However, there is something in them that makes our contemporaries think too. For example, the well-known slave uprising in Ancient Rome. It lasted three years (73 (or 74) - 71 BC) and immortalized the name of the leader, the controversy surrounding whose personality has not subsided to this day. The meaning of events is also viewed from different angles.
Memory of Freedom
Spartak was from Thrace, a small country located on the territory of present-day Bulgaria. It is very likely that he came from a noble family and was distinguished not only by his strength and courage, but also by his extraordinary intelligence. Greek and Roman writers, in particular Plutarch, spoke with respect about his valor and nobility. This fact is quite remarkable - few people deserve words of praise from authors from the enemy camp.
The brave Thracian fought with the Romans, but was captured. In this regard, Plutarch reports interesting touches. Together with Spartak, his wife, who was famous in her homeland as a seer, was also captured. And now, in the bitter days of captivity, the young Thracian woman was visited by visions that predicted a glorious, but sad fate for Spartacus. Later, his faithful wife was with him during his flight.
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
A terrible fate awaited the captured Spartacus - he was sold to the gladiators. His death was meant to be merely an entertaining spectacle for the idle crowd. But it was not in the nature of the freedom-loving Thracian to put up with such a state of affairs - he was born free and always remembered this. Among the gladiators there were those who supported him. Gradually, a conspiracy took shape and an escape plan began to mature.
...Meanwhile, the Romans flocked to the amphitheatres. Not only the aristocrats, satiated with pleasures, but also the poor from the very bottom - everyone longed to see bloody battles. The very fact of the existence of such, so to speak, fun testified to the deep decline of morals in the Roman Empire. And therefore it is very significant and symbolic that the uprising was started by gladiators. The thirst for bloody “entertainment” turned against the Romans themselves.
Over the abyss
Photo: Depositphotos
The rebel gladiators, armed with kitchen knives and everything they could get their hands on, pushed back the guards and broke out of the dungeons. The air of freedom made our heads spin. But at the top of Vesuvius, where the fugitives took refuge, a cooling of euphoria set in. The painful torture of the unknown began. By that time, the authorities had already sent detachments to block all the slopes. The rebel gladiators now faced either death from hunger and thirst, or reprisals from the Romans.
Wild grapes grew in abundance at the top of the mountain. And then Spartak proposed a daring plan to his comrades: to weave ladders from vines and go down from a steep cliff, where no guards were posted. There was no choice, and I had to take a huge risk - literally hanging over the abyss. Overcoming fear and facing mortal danger, the rebel slaves were able to successfully descend and put the Roman troops to flight.
Mysterious twist
But that was only the beginning of the uprising. Ahead lay a difficult path without clear prospects, when it was necessary to make and change plans on the go. And, of course, a continuous struggle in which defeat was tantamount to death. The number of rebels grew, and fugitive slaves constantly joined Spartacus. They headed towards the Alps. It was assumed that, having crossed the mountains, everyone would be able to return to their homeland.
Next came the most mysterious episode of the uprising. Spartak almost approached the goal - his native Thrace was close. The dream of returning inspired him to overcome incredible difficulties. But suddenly he turns back. The reasons for this are unclear. It is very possible that not everyone wanted to leave Italy - many were born here.
Spartak was aware of his responsibility to those who followed him. And therefore he could not be guided solely by personal interests - he remembered the duty of a leader. There were some disagreements: there were those who were more attracted by the wealth of the aristocrats than by the fight against slavery. Several detachments separated from the army of Spartacus, but met death at the hands of Roman legionnaires. 
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
Why is modern man a slave? Tell us what fate and character mean?
Modern man is a slave to his work in the modern sense of the word. Women protest against this most of all, because if the husband is a slave to his work, then the wife, among other things, is the slave of her husband. That is, a doubly slave. Why?
In our development, we have long overcome the slave system, but we have not been able to renounce the past. We carry it in our souls we feel we try to get rid of it, but since it is a feeling, it determines our life. We know that we are not slaves, but we feel like slaves. Therefore, we behave like slaves until our patience runs out. Then we begin to fight against our own enslavement and demand equality. After all, a slave does not feel equal to others. As a result of this struggle, complete zero is achieved, because the material struggle cannot give spiritual freedom.
A characteristic feature of a slave is the desire to prove that he is better than he is. A slave is a machine that wants to prove that it is a human, but this fails because the machine is stronger than a human. In the service of the master, the slave is a good tool - a shovel; in the service of the master, an even better tool - a machine; in the service of the master, an excellent tool - a computer. To work on a computer and to earn big money, nothing more is required than a person having brains and the ability to press the keys with his finger. Working on a computer is a wonderful thing, but if a computer geek becomes dependent on the computer, this is escapism. This means that the person feels lack of other human skills. He can use computer, but doesn't know how to do anything with his own hands and this shame is hidden from others.
With the triumphant march of computers, the number of people who understand computers, but do not want to work on them, is growing. If they are forced to use a computer due to the nature of their work, after some time they become allergic to the computer. Why? This is a human protest against the final transformation into a machine. The man discovers that people are no longer human, panics and begins to protest against turning himself into a machine. He becomes allergic to the computer because the protest remains unrealized.
A computer fanatic is capable of inventing miracles, but it soon turns out that someone has invented an anti-miracle - a computer virus that has destroyed his work. Why does such purposeful hostility, or anger, arise? Because someone got tired of being a machine, and he began to destroy the machine that turned him into a slave. He wants to be human. Like most people with material views, he strives to destroy what destroys him. He wants freedom. By destroying material things, man hopes to gain spiritual freedom. By destroying his family, he hopes to free himself from his own problems, including his enslavement.
A slave at his low level of development must do a certain amount of work to develop. Work develops a person. And the higher the level of development, the more care you need to make sure there is time. And if you have the opportunity, but everything around you hangs and sticks out somehow, and you walk by every day, you increase your stress. Every time you pass by, you get irritated, angry because of what you see - something is wrong everywhere. Stress kills comfort. And there is no comfort. And when we cry, there are possibilities, but there is no intelligence.
We all have all these stresses that I mentioned. From compression and suppression, they all add up to the next severe stage of guilt, which is called depression.
How many of you don't have depression? I didn't ask who is depressed?Remember: if you see, hear, feel, read, learn, no matter from what information, about something that exists in the world, then you all have it. And we need to take care that what someone else has, I don’t grow bigger. This is itdaily work with yourself. Take care to keep stress low.
If you realized and acknowledged the presence of underlying stresses, then there was a need to release them, and you did not feel that someone was forcing you to do this. Therefore, the increasingly complex knowledge about stress contained in my books was perceived by you as something completely natural, and you began to release these stresses because you realized how much this eased the burden of life. Perhaps you yourself have come to the idea that stress has its own language. After all, language is a means of self-expression, and expression is the outward conclusion, or release, of accumulated energy.
Talkingwith another person, I give him the necessary information about what is needed to me, and in the end it gives what to me necessary, be it material or intangible. Consciously or unknowingly, I accept it. By talking to stress, I give it freedom, and it gives me freedom, that is, something that is impossible to do without. Now I I gratefully accept what they give me. In the meantime, I have already given everything on my part, and therefore I gratefully accept what they give me. I made him happy, he made me happy, and I don’t have the question: “Why should I start first?” - because I firmly know that my life begins with myself, and therefore it is natural that I myself should take on what I have to do in life.
Knowing the language of stress is more important than knowing any foreign language, because HIS OWN LIFE SPEAKS TO A PERSON IN THE LANGUAGE OF STRESS.
Many people ask: “Does this kind of thinking really help all people?” “It helps,” I answer, “if they are people. But if they are good people who only want the best and do not give up their opinions, then it does not help.” The most difficult thing for a person is to abandon outdated, outdated ideas, but such refusal is the key to happiness.
After all, stress is like a wave, all energy is a wave. A wave with a small amplitude will fit into the normal corridor. Then this is normal life. Everything is everywhere. And if we don’t take care of ourselves, but run around worrying about others, then we imperceptibly increase the amplitude of the wave more and more, and it will no longer fit into the normal corridor, it will not fit in me, in my (like a ball) shell. Stress will not fit inside, but will jump out like a hedgehog's needle. Such energies that are larger than me and do not fit inside me are called character traits that command me. As long as I take care of myself and all these stresses are placed within me, I manage them. And if I didn’t take care of myself and they grew into a character trait, then these character traits are a lot of stress, they command me, have power over me.
We are used to saying: such is fate. Sorry, that's an excuse. Life doesn't expect excuses from us. Life says: “If in a past life you did what you did, and did not correct, at least two minutes before death, your mistakes (you did not admit them and did not correct them), then you came into this life with a destiny created by you. This is a certain amount of stress that you need to live through in order to learn, in order to correct your mistake, which says: man, when you collect energy in yourself, you are not behaving like a human being.”
And there is such a thing as character. This is also our justification: I have such a character. But I have a different character. What will you do, fight? So our characters should destroy each other? Who are we then? We are people, we look from the outside and give the energy contained within us the opportunity to kill each other. Is this humane? Are we happy when another is killed? No, we are happy because we have proven that we are better. In fact, we are not better, we are stronger.
: “The USSR was bad not in things or in salaries”.
I'll tell you that the USSR was great. Yes, there were mistakes and irregularities that needed and could be corrected. But which fit well into the goodness of the USSR. The Soviet man was not literally a slave - he was free in the broad sense of the word: he did not depend on things, did not depend on the employer, did not depend on whether or not he owned a home.
And now a person is a slave: a slave of “mortgage”, a slave of savings (if he has them) and real estate, a credit slave, etc. Material shackles bind one's hands and feet. He is like a goat tied to a peg that cannot move further than the length of the belt from him.
In the USSR it was impossible to “lose EVERYTHING.” This opportunity has now been provided.
Russian people have always sought freedom and found freedom. Now he doesn't have it.
P.S.
I just found excellent material from a friend, in particular, characterizing the aspirations of the Soviet state regarding the existence of Soviet man, regarding his liberation for (no matter how pretentious it may sound) all-round creative development.
"In progress" Economic problems of socialism in the USSR" (1952) I. Stalin As the third point of an indispensable precondition for the transition from socialism to communism, he writes the following:
3. It is necessary, thirdly, to achieve such a cultural growth of society that would provide all members of society with the comprehensive development of their physical and mental abilities, so that members of society have the opportunity to receive an education sufficient to become active figures in social development, so that they have the opportunity to freely choose a profession, and not be chained for life, due to the existing division of labor, to one particular profession.
What is required for this?
It would be wrong to think that such a serious cultural growth of the members of society can be achieved without serious changes in the present state of labor. To do this, you must first reduce the working day to at least 6, and then to 5 hours. This is necessary to ensure that members of society receive enough free time necessary to receive a comprehensive education. To do this, it is necessary, further, to introduce compulsory polytechnic training, which is necessary so that members of society have the opportunity to freely choose a profession and not be chained to one profession for the rest of their lives. To do this, it is necessary, further, to radically improve living conditions and raise the real wages of workers and employees at least twice, if not more, both through a direct increase in money wages and, especially, through a further systematic reduction in prices for consumer goods.
These are the basic conditions for preparing the transition to communism.
Only after all these preconditions taken together have been fulfilled will it be possible to hope that work will be transformed in the eyes of the members of society from a burden “into the first necessity of life” (Marx), that “labor will turn from a heavy burden into pleasure” (Engels), that public property will be regarded by all members of society as an unshakable and inviolable basis for the existence of society."
Here is another facet of real freedom. Let us not have time to reach this brink. We haven't made it yet.
“Freedom”, understood as the freedom to choose between “Adidas” and “skorokhod”, is the petty dreams of a little person. Dreams Akaki Akakievich.
P.P.S.
27.03.16
But this is what freedom comes to in the consumer's understanding. It comes not just in thoughts, but is already on the rails of implementation. I am sure that the majority of opponents are in favor. Even taking into account motivation:
"
Human rights organizations, together with African liberals, advocate the legalization of early abortion. A microbiologist writes that this is necessary for preparing expensive anti-aging creams from unborn children."
(fully.
So, I will give a number of formulations from Wikipedia so that it is clear on what further logical reasoning will be based.
Term 1. Slavery.
Slavery is historically a system of society where a person (slave) is the property of another person (master, slave owner, master) or the state. First, captives, criminals and debtors were taken as slaves, and later civilians who were forced to work for their master.
Term 2. Feudalism.
Feudalism (from Latin feudum - flax, feudal land tenure) is a socio-political structure characterized by the presence of two social classes - feudal lords (landowners) and commoners (peasants), occupying a subordinate position in relation to the feudal lords; feudal lords are bound to each other by a specific type of legal obligation known as the feudal ladder. The basis of feudalism is feudal ownership of land.
Term 3. Capitalism.
Capitalism is an economic system of production and distribution based on private property, universal legal equality and free enterprise. The main criterion for making economic decisions is the desire to increase capital and make a profit.
And so... I'll begin...
As we are told in various smart textbooks, educational institutions, the media and other places... as well as our “smart” politicians, everything happened like this:
First there was slavery, then it was replaced by a more developed structure, Feudalism, and then feudalism, when it reached its peak, evolved into capitalism. And here comes the question...
But what really changed during these transitions? What distinguishes slavery, feudalism and capitalism, and what has developed over all these thousands of years? These are the questions I will try to answer.
As can be seen from the definition of the term “Slavery”, the resulting model is as follows:
There is a slave owner and a slave. The slave owner has absolute power over the slave. Also, the slave owner forces the slave to work for himself and bring profit through slave labor, however, in order for the slave to work for a long time and bring a lot of profit, the slave owner had to take care of him: feed him, provide medical care, and so on. The slave, in turn, out of some fear, became the property of the slave owner and was obliged to give his life for the sake of the owner. And all that is good, however, with an increase in the number of slaves, it was difficult to monitor them; epidemics of plague and other things could cause enormous damage to slave owners. Also, slave owners had to take care of their guards, and the guards also came from slaves, and sometimes the guards raised uprisings and killed their own masters. So slave owners had the following problems with slaves:
1. Providing housing.
2. Providing food and water.
3. Providing protection.
4. Providing medical assistance.
5. Possible riots.
And not surprisingly, feudalism solved some of these problems. As you can see, slavery simply changed the form of ownership, or rather, it expanded it, and uneducated people still could not guess that slavery had not gone away. It’s just that during the transition to feudalism, the slave owner did not have to provide housing to the slaves, they built it themselves, on his territory, and the slave owner also did not have to provide food and water, because people grew (hunted) themselves, generally obtained food for food, and then taxes appeared. And taxes are the cream that the slave owner took from his slaves. Net profit so to speak. But feudalism solved only 2 out of 5 problems.
And the feudal lords began to think. How to solve all these problems? And a brilliant thought came: “Why not force the slaves to do everything themselves, and so that they themselves want to work and make a profit and not under pressure.” And this idea came to life in the form of capitalism. In capitalism, a certain “capital” controls everyone, but the cream is skimmed by the same slave owners (they haven’t changed at all), and all the scraps from their table are accepted with great gratitude by the so-called middle class.
What problems does capitalism solve?
Solves the housing problem. The slave must now buy his own housing, and not have someone give it to him.
Solves the problem with food and water. If you work, you will have a livelihood, if you don’t, you won’t.
Solves the security problem. Slaves protect themselves from each other, and not someone centralized. All armies consist of hired slaves who are ready to give their lives for “capital”. This is akin to faith in God, only now “capital” is the universal god.
Solves the problem of medical care. The slaves themselves are ready to treat other slaves for “capital”, or rather to profit from their illnesses. Because the more serious the illness, the more cream the slave owner will receive and the more scraps will fall from his table.
Solves the problem with riots. Slaves are so busy getting food, housing, medical care, protection and other things that there is simply no time left for riots.
And most importantly, it solves the problem of the labor of slave owners; now, in order to skim the cream, you don’t have to do anything at all. The cream is served on its own.
This is why capitalism is considered an ideal step in evolution. He solved all the problems of the slave owners, now they can only skim the cream and kick the bullshit, and the anthill itself works without their participation.
But it is important to understand that the same slave owners and the same slaves still remain. And I and the majority of those who read this article are also slaves, it is we who eat other people’s scraps. We are the ones who put the cream on the table of the slave owners. And it’s a shame that the majority of people don’t understand this. Few people understand that he is just a pawn or an ant who will be crushed. But everyone almost unanimously screams that capitalism is a damn force, it is the best system for distributing resources. Class. The best. When all the best goes to the slave owner and those who got this best are only scraps from his table. Is this the best in your opinion?
Although, I don’t want to prove anything to anyone. Thus, we see what is hidden behind the screen of capitalism. We can change this, and not only can we, but we need to change this to a different model of resource distribution. So that everyone gets what they deserve, and not scraps.
A slave who is satisfied with his position is doubly a slave, because not only his body is in slavery, but also his soul. (E. Burke)
Man is a slave because freedom is difficult and slavery is easy. (N. Berdyaev)
Slavery can degrade people to the point of loving it. (L. Vauvenargues)
Slaves always manage to have their own slave. (Ethel Lilian Voynich)
He who fears others is a slave, although he does not notice it. (Antisthenes)
Slaves and tyrants fear each other. (E. Beauchaine)
The only way to make a people virtuous is to give them freedom; slavery gives rise to all vices, true freedom purifies the soul. (P. Buast)
Only the slave restores the fallen crown. (D. Gibran)
Voluntary slaves produce more tyrants than tyrants produce slaves. (O. Mirabeau)
Violence created the first slaves, cowardice perpetuated them. (J.J. Rousseau)
There is no slavery more shameful than voluntary slavery. (Seneca)
And as long as people feel like they are only a part, not noticing the whole, they will give themselves into complete slavery.
Anyone who is not afraid to look death in the face cannot be a slave. He who is afraid cannot be a warrior. (Olga Brileva)
The slave owner is himself a slave, worse than the helots! (Ivan Efremov)
Is this really our miserable lot: To be slaves to our lustful bodies? After all, not a single one living in the world has yet. He was unable to quench his desires. (Omar Khayyam)
The government spits on us, don’t talk about politics and religion - all this is enemy propaganda! Wars, disasters, murders - all this horror! The media puts on a sad face, characterizing this as a great human tragedy, but we know that the media does not pursue the goal of destroying the evil of the world - no! Her task is to convince us to accept this evil, to adapt to living in it! The authorities want us to be passive observers! They left us no chance, except for a rare, absolutely symbolic general vote - choose the doll on the left or the doll on the right! (Author unknown)
Anyone who can be made a slave is not worth freedom. (Maria Semyonova)
Slavery is the greatest of all misfortunes. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
It is disgusting to be under the yoke - even in the name of freedom. (Karl Marx)
A people who enslaves another people forges their own chains. (Karl Marx)
...There is nothing more terrible, more humiliating, than to be the slave of a slave. (Karl Marx)
Animals have that noble peculiarity that a lion never, out of cowardice, becomes the slave of another lion, and a horse never becomes the slave of another horse. (Michel de Montaigne)
In truth, prostitution is another form of slavery. Based on unhappiness, need, addiction to alcohol or drugs. A woman's dependence on a man. (Janusz Leon Wisniewski, Małgorzata Domagalik)
There is no slavery more hopeless than the slavery of those slaves who consider themselves free from shackles. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Almost all people are slaves, and this is explained by the same reason that the Spartans explained the humiliation of the Persians: they are unable to pronounce the word “no”... (Nicholas Chamfort)
The slave dreams not of freedom, but of his own slaves. (Boris Krutier)
In a totalitarian state, an all-powerful cohort of political bosses and an army of administrators subordinate to them will rule over a population consisting of slaves who do not need to be forced, because they love their slavery. (Aldous Huxley)
So, comrades, how does our life work? Let's face it. Poverty, overwork, untimely death - this is our lot. We are born, we receive just enough food so as not to die of hunger, and the draft animals are also exhausted with work until all the juices are squeezed out of them, and when we are no longer good for anything, we are killed with monstrous cruelty. There is no animal in England that would not say goodbye to leisure and joy of life as soon as it turns one year old. There is no animal in England that has not been enslaved. (George Orwell.)
Only a person who has overcome the slave within himself will know freedom. (Henry Miller)
This means that all the knowledge that scientists with respectable diplomas and impressive titles gave him, like priceless treasures, was just a prison. He humbly thanked him every time they extended his leash a little, which remained a leash. We can live without a leash. (Bernard Werber)
Power over oneself is the highest power, enslavement to one’s passions is the most terrible slavery. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
- This is how freedom dies - to thunderous applause... (Padmé Amidala, Star Wars)
Anyone who can be happy alone is a real person. If your happiness depends on others, then you are a slave, you are not free, you are in bondage. (Chandra Mohan Rajneesh)
You see, as soon as slavery is legalized anywhere, the lower rungs of the social ladder become terribly slippery... Once you start measuring human life in money, it turns out that this price can decrease penny by penny until there is nothing left at all. (Robin Hobb)
Better freedom in hell than slavery in heaven. (Anatole France)
People are rushing about, trying not to be late for work, many are chattering on their mobile phones as they go, gradually drawing their sleep-deprived brains into the morning bustle of the city. (Currently, mobile phones also serve as an additional alarm clock. If the first one wakes you up for work, the second one tells you that work has already begun.) Sometimes my imagination draws bales on the backs of slightly hunched figures, turning them into serf slaves who daily pay taxes to their masters in the form of their own health, feelings and emotions. The stupidest and most terrible thing about this is that they do all this of their own free will, in the absence of any enslaving serfdom. (Sergey Minaev)
Slavery is a prison of the soul. (Publius)
Habit also reconciles with slavery. (Pythagoras of Samos)
People themselves hold on to their slave share. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
It is wonderful to die - it is shameful to be a slave. (Publius Sirus)
Emancipation from slavery is a law of nations. (Justinian I)
God did not create slavery, but gave man freedom. (John Chrysostom)
Slavery degrades a person to the point that he begins to love his chains. (Luc de Clapier de Vauvenargues)
The greatest slavery is to consider yourself free without having freedom. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
There is nothing more slavish than luxury and bliss, and nothing more royal than labor. (Alexander the Great)
Woe to the people if slavery could not humiliate them; such a people were created to be slaves. (Peter Yakovlevich Chaadaev)
Power over oneself is the highest power; Enslavement to one's passions is the most terrible slavery. (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
You serve me slavishly, and then complain that I am not interested in you: who would be interested in a slave? (George Bernard Shaw)
Every man born into slavery is born into slavery; nothing could be truer than this. In chains, slaves lose everything, even the desire to be freed from them. (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Debt is the beginning of slavery, even worse than slavery, because the creditor is more inexorable than the slave owner: he owns not only your body, but also your dignity and can, on occasion, inflict grave insults on him. (Victor Marie Hugo)
Since people began to live together, freedom disappeared and slavery arose, for every law, limiting and narrowing the rights of one in favor of all, thereby encroaches on the freedom of an individual. (Raffaello Giovagnoli)
Servants who do not have a master do not become free people because of this - lackeyness is in their soul. (Heine Heinrich)
To become a free person... You need to squeeze the slave out of yourself drop by drop. (Chekhov Anton Pavlovich)
He who by nature belongs not to himself, but to another, and at the same time is still a man, is a slave. (Aristotle)
The dream of slaves: a market where you can buy yourself a master. (Stanislav Jerzy Lec)
