Anyone can be as free as they want to be. The homeless are probably more free than others.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

Possessions are chains that enslave us. Family is a net to bind us. Any obligation reduces your freedom even if you chose to be obligated.

The report about how many people live in freedom completely misses the point. What kind of government has jurisdiction over the place where you reside is only a small indicator of how free you are.

A government is a democracy even if only three people have the right to vote. Democracy has nothing to do with freedom. Democracy can be greater or lesser it is not an absolute.

Certainly, democracy is not humanity's natural state. Our natural state is more like a wolf pack. If you want to belong you must submit to the Alpha. You don't like it you are cast out lone wolf. A cast out lone wolf is more free. More free than even the Alpha.

In dictatorial/authoritarian countries freedom is expressed. It is underground, sometimes barely below the surface. No government has the power to enforce full compliance, even the most feared.

Nobody can free you. No government can offer freedom, just some lesser form or tyranny. If freedom is so important to you then free yourself. Break all the chains that bind you.

TEK