Freedom as a construct
This book argues that freedom isn't a default category. It isn't as easy to define freedom as it sounds in the everyday political lingo for "free" nations. He argues that freedom should be thought of as a social construct, and one that is worth pursuing. Although people feel like they know what they want when they say they want freedom, this book offers a concise exploration of what types of freedom might be available by exploring the ways in which people technically are not free.
Environment
The first factor restricting freedom is environment. By being born into a social context, the infinite potential of human nature is already severely limited. It is very difficult to push past one's social context into freedom that exists outside the shared beliefs and opinions in one's culture, and therefore few people do it, and that makes it chronically unlikely that new people will succeed who push past their cultural bounds. For instance, imagine a person in a strictly Christian environment choosing to be Muslim when no one in their family or school is; that is freedom, but it rarely occurs to everyday folks.
The needs of life
Another way that humans are bound is by the game of life. One is not really free to stop earning money in the modern era, because survival in nature is extremely difficult, and if one wants the advantages of civilization, they have to accept the burden of society and occupation. This extends into other aspects of one's self, such as gender role, preoccupation, interests, and even into the ways one interacts with the external world; he sees that even language is pre-selected for us. We don't just get to walk around using made up words; we have to adhere to the language game that exists in our community.
Emotions as a crux
This book zooms in on another kind of freedom that verges on metaphysics. What is an emotion? What is social shame? To be free from the reigns of other people, one must also become free of the ways in which people shape one's perception of their own self. For instance, if a valuable person in one's community insults someone else, that other person can become trapped inside the negative emotions produced by the insult. By becoming free, one has to find a way out of emotional restraints.
Freedom from the past
Likewise, in the pursuit of freedom, one must become free from the past, but that is more difficult than it sounds. For instance, forgiving people frees one of the painful burdens of grudges and resent. This symbolic journey shows freedom and forgiveness as inherently related phenomena; the goal toward freedom is truly a journey toward spiritual sustainability in this light, and freedom from the past also implies freedom from the anxious concerns for the future. The quest is for enlightenment.
