When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

John Basil Barnhill in 1914

With news that the Australian government is banning under 16s from social media, one has to wonder, how that can work without undermining basic freedom.

There can be little doubt that Social Media is a blight on society, but is it really the job of the government to outright ban it? Sadly, society may already be at the stage where no amount of education can now undo the damage done by these platforms.

The Internet is a good example of how when there is chaos, there is no real freedom. If anyone and everyone can take anything from anyone else, then no one is really free. Like the Second Amendment, the argument is a counter intuitive one, with a price that undermines the very freedoms that it purports. If anyone can bear arms, then everyone must, for equality to be maintained - which thereby removes any freedom of choice.