[doggwalker]

I just don't see how you can say society always evolves towards more freedom and less centralization.

I would say the total opposite. The natural equilibrium is no freedom and complete centralization but we have just been in a far from equilibrium state recently.

I imagine over the next 100 years "freedom" will be completely redefined. It was only 40 years ago in the US that you could go to a bar, get incredibly drunk and then drive home without a seat belt. This was normal behavior that is now 100% illegal. It is hard for me to imagine a future that doesn't look like modern day China but with monitoring of blood and brain states as well. Society has already spoken that we will trade freedom for safety. With pooling resources for health insurance we are going to have to know collectively about early warning signs in your blood once possible in order to keep us all safe.

We are going to have to monitor your brain state once possible for early warning signs of people becoming unhinged to keep us all safe.

I mean you don't have the freedom to travel west and claim 160 acres of land anymore. It wasn't that long ago people had that freedom but it is laughable by today's standards. I think this is how people in the future will feel about total surveillance because that is kind of how it is now anyway.

[cft]

I upvoted you, but you are talking about smaller time scales. In Rome, between 15% and 35% were hereditary slaves. Then for a thousand years, the majority of the European population were serfs (freer than slaves). In the last 150 years, most people in Europe and in the US are able to choose their own jobs. That's the transition I am talking about. I think the fiat money and current war on free enterprise will ultimately end with a regime change.