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it should be obvious that most people place a greater value upon freedom, than mere existence.
I understand your reference and agree. But freedom is not the same to all people. That is obvious with some of the posts on this board between US citizens and people from France and England for example. They profess to have more freedom than we do. I guess it depends on what one considers as freedom. I have heard people in China asked about freedom, and they say they have it. And this is echoed in other countries, where we would consider that they are very repressed and possess few of the things we think of as freedoms.

I suppose we could say that freedom is relative to the surrounding situation, and if part of the population seems to possess freedom, then those who do not, would feel oppressed. Otherwise, it is dependent upon the society in which we live. Even today there is slavery practiced in some societies. It may not be slavery as you see it, black persons in shackles being put on ships and brought to another country and treated poorly.