[khafra]

> the USA is supposedly "the land of the free".

The more free private entities are from government oversight, the more carefully they have to read contracts. For example, even the US is not quite so free as to allow people to sell their organs. If it were, citizens would have to carefully read room rental contracts at hotels, to make sure there were no conditions which included forfeiture of a kidney.

(FWIW, I'm now living in Germany, and it's significantly more relaxing with a bit less freedom. There's definitely different tradeoffs which make more sense for different people).

[Ylpertnodi]

Could you explain '...relaxing with a bit less freedom'?

[khafra]

The most illuminating example is, unfortunately, in a controversial area; so please take this as descriptive rather than normative: Back in my city in America, when I heard a loud bang in the night, 4/5 of the time it was fireworks or a car backfiring, and 1/5 of the time it was gunfire. I found an expended 9mm round while walking my dog one morning. It wasn't even a particularly dangerous city, by American standards; but every year I had a 3/100k chance of being killed by gunfire; even accidentally, even while just sitting in my living room.

Here in Germany, I'm not magically immune to crime, but the base rates of gun crime are so low that I never worry about loud bangs. That comes at the cost of the freedom granted by the Second Amendment in America.

Another, slightly less salient & serious example: Germany has strict laws about public photography. Take a look at any "embarrassing pratfalls" or "annoying Karens" video reel: They may be US-weighted, but they come from all over the world--but not Germany. The lack of freedom to document the people around you on video trades off with the security of knowing you can slip on a banana peel without being known worldwide as "the banana peel guy."