Carlo

A truly great book.

What is Freedom? Ursula K. Le Guin gave what I believe to be the best answer to this question. She shouts about how Freedom is by no means synonymous to a risk-free life. It will absolutely entail hardship, heavy labor and insecurity. I remember once reading an interview with Chomsky where he was asked about Anarchism and how the Anarchist society might be. He answered that there are no ready-made answers to this question. He stressed that "we have to try and see". I found his "answer" courageous and insightful.

What a better place to talk about human nature and its yearning to be free other than an Anarchist society. The book was a heavy read and at times overly descriptive. As I read, I realized that I have many unanswered questions about the life and dangers in Anarres (the Anarchist society in the book) and I was slightly annoyed by this and mistakenly took it as a weakness by the authoress. Then it dawned on me that this is precisely the point of the book: you don't be an Anarchist because you choose to be one, you just shatter the walls around you and return to your normal state. Anarchism is not a choice about "enhancing" the well-being of human lives, it is just the rejection of authority, whatever risks and woes that might entail.