Trading Freedom

"You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."
--Cypher (The Matrix)

Although freedom is an inalienable right that each of us is born with, some value it less than others. Because people value freedom differently, markets have developed where freedom can be traded for something else.

For example, debt markets are places where people can obtain higher standard of living today in exchange for less freedom in the future (since borrowers are obligated to work for the creditor to pay back debt). Some people are willing to sell  some or all of their freedom no matter how high the price (in this case interest rates).  Others are unwilling to sell any of their freedom regardless of terms.

We can think of individual preferences for freedom as lying along a continuum. At one end of the scale are people who value freedom highly and are unwilling to trade it at any price. Patrick Henry's "liberty or death" statement famously reflects the 'high taste preference for freedom' end of the scale pretty well.

On the other end of the scale are people who place little value on freedom and are willing to trade it all away permanently in exchange for something else. Perhaps they trade freedom for some perceived measure of safety, or to reduce personal pain or suffering, or for some other tangible or psychic good. Consider Cypher's story above, who traded all of his freedom for temporary feelings of comfort and pleasure.

What is your taste preference for freedom? How much of it are you willing to trade away? At what price?