The freedom of the ancients compared to the modern ones

Abstract

Freedom is seen from two points of view: the old and the modern. The former sought
war, while the latter sought peace. Happy warfare for the ancients was synonymous with prosperity,
for it brought slaves, tributes, and lands. For moderns, happy warfare was a nuisance because
it disrupted trade. The fact is that both had the same goal, which was to have everything they
wanted. While the ancients used the war spirit, the moderns used the bargaining spirit through
agreements. Both war and trade were ways of achieving freedom. The former exercised it by
active and constant participation in collective power and the latter by private independence and the
almost imperceptible exercise of collective power.