Freedom, democracy, and values: Perception of freedom of choice and readiness to protest

Abstract

In so-called democracies, although several political measures have recently curbed citizens’ personal freedom (e.g., 2001 US Patriot Act), no major demonstrations have been organized against such restrictions. The main idea underlying this manuscript is that citizens living in democracies often have an overestimated perception of their freedom of choice. This perception may lead to the risk of not recognizing possible restrictions of liberties with the consequence of being less prepared to protest in order to defend them. Some sociopsychological variables that prevent or favor the recognition of these limitations of freedom of choice in democracies are considered. In particular, a value-based political orientation and a strong moral stance toward social equality are thought to lead citizens to have a more active evaluation of institutional policies regardless of the political system they live in.