Freedom Illusion?

Someone in conversation asserted confidently that no one is really free and I kind of got what they meant but thinking about it more it is nothing but a commonplace for every creature in obeying the requirements of its nature is constricted and circumscribed thereby.A human being cannot jump off a building and fly.A cat cannot swim underwater in the ocean,a dog cannot rebel against its dog nature and wile away its days surfing the internet etc.

All creatures are delimited in their behaviour by their nature and their requirements for survival through certain self sustaining actions.There is no absolute freedom as such,only within certain prescribed parameters. The prescription is dictated by reality.

The person in question was probably bewailing their human circumstances specifically in the need to work and earn a living.Yes it is true human beings have to trade and exchange goods and services.Right from the first humans living in caves,hunting and foraging etc certain actions were needed to sustain existence and so it is today in modern human societies.To bemoan the lack of freedom to do whatever you want in defiance of the requirements of your existence is to turn away from reality and indulge in wishfull thinking denial.

Of course some people have relatively more freedom than others.A Richard Branson versus someone working in Macdonalds for instance.We don't all come from privileged backgrounds, we have to make the best of our circumstances.So whatever freedom we can exert within those limits we are essentially free moral agents in the choice of actions we take to sustain our existence and pursue values compatible with our nature for the enjoyment and fulfilment of goals.

The only freedom we do not possess is the freedom from reality.If we choose to go against our nature we end up as a bum on welfare having others do for us what we have abdicated responsbility to do for ourselves.