Aesop told a fable about a wolf and a dog.
A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by. “Ah, Cousin,” said the Dog. “I knew how it would be; your irregular life will soon be the ruin of you. Why do you not work steadily as I do, and get your food regularly given to you?”
“I would have no objection,” said the Wolf, “if I could only get a place.”
“I will easily arrange that for you,” said the Dog; “come with me to my master and you shall share my work.” So the Wolf and the Dog went towards the town together. On the way there the Wolf noticed that the hair on a certain part of the Dog’s neck was very much worn away, so he asked him how that had come about.
“Oh, it is nothing,” said the Dog. “That is only the place where the collar is put on at night to keep me chained up; it chafes a bit, but one soon gets used to it.” “Is that all?” said the Wolf. “Then good-bye to you, Master Dog.”
Better starve free than be a fat slave.
Lately, I have seen quite a few discussions between Americans and Europeans on social media, particularly X. These debates make it clear that although we both have a common origin in Western Civilization, we have very different values, especially when it comes to the balance between freedom and security.
I am, of course, guilty of overgeneralization. Both continents are very diverse places. Europe is composed of some forty countries, each with its own culture. There is an eclectic array of ethnic groups, languages, and religions in various geographic settings. The United States is a single country where most people speak English. Yet, the fifty states are, in their ways, just as distinct as the nations of Europe. Anything I say about Americans or Europeans will have many exceptions. I think, however, that I can make some broad generalizations that mostly hold true about either continent.
Europeans seem to prize security. They want their governments to take care of them. In the discussions I have mentioned, Europeans often claim their political culture is superior because their governments look after them. Europeans have their health care paid for. Frequently, their basic necessities are subsidized. European countries have more robust safety nets. It is difficult for companies to lay off workers, so European jobs are more secure. No one in Europe is starving or freezing on the streets. At least so Europeans claim.
European governments protect their people. Firearms are strictly regulated so that Europeans are safer than the gun crazy Americans. Their governments protect their people from misinformation and hate speech by controlling what may be said or written in public. Our vaunted American First Amendment only gives Americans the freedom to hate and spread lies. Europeans understand the balance between freedom and social responsibility.
In contrast, Americans seem to value freedom, even if it makes life harder or more dangerous. Most Americans don’t want the government to look after them. Americans agree that there should be some form of safety net for the unfortunate, but not at the cost of infringing on our freedom. Social services provided by the American government tend to be less extensive or generous than their European counterparts. Americans agree that health, safety, and environmental regulations are necessary, but tend to criticize overregulation. Americans seem more skeptical of the power of government to do good.
Americans generally treat freedom of speech as an absolute right. We reject the idea that people should be protected against hate speech. We believe the way to combat misinformation is with better information. We don’t want the government to take away our guns to protect us. We believe we need our guns to protect ourselves, most of all from our own government, should it become tyrannical.
Americans, then, are like the wolf in the fable. We would rather be free than safe. Europeans are like the dog, preferring safety to freedom. They say to us, “You should be more like us”, and we reply, “No thanks. we would rather be free”.
In one sense, Aesop’s fable falls flat. The wolf is starving but free, while the dog is a well-fed slave. In fact, America’s standard of living is higher than much of Europe. This is precisely because America is freer than Europe. History has shown that a free people working for themselves are always better off than serfs working for a master who grudgingly doles largess to his cringing servants. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, those who give up their liberty for prosperity get neither liberty nor prosperity in the end.
I wrote this post before the kerfuffle regarding the US denying visas to EU officials who support censorship and have insisted American platforms follow EU rules. This incident seems to be a perfect example of what I’m talking about. America is saying, “We don’t want them in our country because they want to censor us”. Europe is saying, “America is censoring our officials who are protecting our freedom of speech from hate and misonformation”. Wolves and dogs indeed.
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