The Martian Maniac is on the money.

We are comparing apples and oranges. Freedom means something different in America (an in rvg's posts) then it does in Europe. An American says he's more free because he can carry firearms, a European claims he's more free because he does not have to worry about people baring arms. An American feels free because there are few restrictions on companies. A European feels free because his food is well protected by keeping food conglomorates in check. Americans hold freedom of speech for a sacred right. Europeans will ban Mein Kampf but subsidise minority broadcasts and public libraries to make sure all voices are heard and can be heard.

Or, absense of governmental interference means freedom to Americans. No interference is the default state, the highest freedom. Any intrusion by the government into this natural state then is a 'breach' of freedom. Commonly accepted for reasons political or social necessity of course. But the rule is, the more interference, the less freedom.
In Europe, freedom is more commonly defined as 'being free from X'. Be it freedom from poverty, freedom from nazis, freedom from want. America then, is thought to be not free because Black children can die of starvation while nazis roam the streets and the food is near poisonous.
I lack the precise terminology. But the difference is not the same as the difference between classic human rights and social rights. There's more to it than that.


It is an interesting difference. More interesting than a Kindergarten sandbox mine-is-bigger contest. And far more interesting than 'OMG, you aer the stoopidist fool otnhe internets hahaha L0Lz'. RVG was quite correct about most of his assertions in the other thread. However, by his standards he was. The Euros are correct too, that America is not the most democratic and free country in the world. In turn, by their standards.

Which one is better, or more free, is a matter of personal political preference. I do not have a set preference for either. In fact, most people don't, and many political discussions on either side of the Atlantic are fought out domestically precisly along these lines.

To be honest, I think there is little to choose between Western Europe, North America, and the usual assorted places elsewhere when it comes to the amount of freedom. One problem that puzzles my mind, is that Singaporeans also lay claim to being more free. For different reasons altogether. Their system is clearly more authoritarian than Western systems, certainly less free by American or European standards. 'Yes, we have corporeal punishment, but unlike the in the West, our women can walk the streets at three 'o clock at night because we have a near zero crime rate'. Are they more free than us or not? I honestly don't know.