Friday Edition — Time and Desire: Freedom for Today or Tomorrow
Freedom Isn’t What You Think It Is — A Cultural Analysis
Societies must decide who freedom is for (Tuesday) and how much freedom feels safe (Wednesday), and what freedom is for (Thursday), then it must decide when freedom should be enjoyed - now or later.
This is the cultural dimension of Indulgence vs. Restraint.
Freedom for Today — The Indulgent Orientation
In indulgent cultures, people have the freedom to do what they want when they want, to satisfy desires as they arise. They live for the now with less concern for the future. They can spend money, take vacations, and speak their feelings openly. Weekends are for leisure, not work. In the United States, holidays extend into shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Americans buy what they want in the moment, using credit now and dealing with the debt later. In Mexico and Brazil, city squares fill with music and food festivals where people celebrate without needing an occasion. Expression itself is a kind of freedom, to laugh, to protest, to post opinions online without fear of reprimand.
But this freedom has limits. High consumer debt in the U.S. and falling savings rates in Australia show how the freedom to enjoy today can take away the freedom to feel secure tomorrow. The freedom to skip work today can mean losing the freedom to spend tomorrow. In indulgent societies, the right to pleasure outweighs the duty to plan. Families may travel abroad once a year, but lack emergency savings at home. People live freely in the moment, but that freedom erodes the freedom to retire comfortably or recover from a crisis.
Freedom for Tomorrow — The Restrained Orientation
In restrained cultures, people sacrifice some freedom today to gain greater freedom tomorrow. They save money, conserve resources, and delay gratification to ensure stability later. In doing so, they give up the freedom to do what they want today in exchange for the freedom to do more in the future, to retire earlier, travel without debt, or support their children’s education when the time comes. In South Korea, long work hours and education pressure reflect the belief that sacrifice today brings freedom tomorrow. In Singapore, strict laws on gambling and finance are accepted as the price for freedom from poverty and a secure future.
It is not the right to act whenever one wishes but the patience to wait for greater freedom later. Communities accept limits on leisure, spending, and self-expression because those limits build stability and opportunity in the future. Freedom means discipline, choosing less now to have more later.
But restraint also narrows life. Workers in Tokyo don’t take paid leave, even when entitled to it. Many don’t have the freedom to go to family gatherings or children’s events because leaving the office early is seen as neglecting duty. The freedom to enjoy small, spontaneous moments, an unplanned trip, a late dinner with friends, a day spent with family is rare in restrained cultures.
Hornby’s Archetypes
Hornby’s archetypes show how people experience freedom through desire and discipline, whether they follow impulse or hold back to protect the future.
The Yellow (Creative) thrives in indulgent cultures, where freedom means acting on inspiration and expressing oneself without judgment.
The Blue (Guardian) defines freedom in restrained cultures. For the Guardian, freedom means discipline, budgeting, saving, and following rules now for freedom later.
The North (Power-Seeker) seeks the freedom to decide quickly and control outcomes, while the Green (Caregiver) finds freedom in ensuring others’ security. One chases immediate choice; the other builds lasting safety.
Together, they show how cultures balance the freedom to satisfy desire with the freedom to maintain discipline.
The Cultural Trade-Off
Each approach protects one freedom by limiting another. Indulgent societies give people freedom to feel alive in the moment but risk losing security. Restrained societies give people freedom from fear and instability, but limit spontaneity and expression.
In one culture, freedom is the right to spend. In the other, it is the right to save. One values pleasure; the other values control.
Every society must decide whether freedom means the ability to act now or the assurance that tomorrow will still be safe.
Tomorrow: The Core Brief
We’ll bring all these dimensions together, showing how freedom, far from being universal, is built by culture, reinforced by values, and sustained by choice.
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Love this one, Way - very interesting to think about - when we complain about "not having freedom," what do we mean...?!!