On Freedom

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and activist known for her writings on attention, grace, and justice. Though she lived only 34 years, her work continues to influence theology, political thought, and moral philosophy. Weil’s insistence on the ethical imperative of attending to others—particularly the vulnerable—resonates strongly with Snyder’s conception of freedom as responsibility.

Snyder draws on Weil to frame freedom not as escape from necessity but as the ability to translate constraints into purpose. Her idea that the body is the site where gravity meets grace enriches his vision of sovereignty, which he grounds in human embodiment. For Snyder, Weil demonstrates how recognition of the stranger expands our own freedom, making solidarity not a concession but a source of knowledge and capacity.

Weil’s life itself exemplifies this principle. She worked alongside laborers and fought with anti-fascist forces in Spain, embodying her philosophy that attention to others is inseparable from political responsibility. Snyder invokes her for her insights as well as her radical example of living by them, underscoring that freedom requires both reflection and action rooted in empathy.

Václav Havel (1936-2011) was a Czech playwright, dissident, and statesman who became the first president of the Czech Republic after the fall of communism. Known for works such as Audience and the essay “The Power of the Powerless,” Havel articulated how totalitarian systems rely not on fanatic belief but on predictability and conformity. His leadership during the Velvet Revolution and later as head of the newly independent Czech Republic made him a global symbol of moral resistance to authoritarianism.

Snyder turns to Havel to develop the second form of freedom: unpredictability. Havel argued that unfreedom arises when individuals accept roles within a system that reduces life to “the most probable states.” In contrast, freedom emerges when people act from values, making their behavior less predictable to rulers and machines. Snyder uses Havel’s example to connect dissident acts—removing propaganda signs, supporting underground musicians—to the defense of liberty as everyday responsibility.

Havel’s thought also resonates with Snyder’s critique of digital technology. Just as communist television blurred coercion with entertainment, today’s algorithms normalize passivity by manufacturing predictability. By placing Havel’s vision of value-driven unpredictability alongside modern debates about social media, Snyder shows how lessons from late-communist Europe illuminate threats to freedom in the digital age.

Volodymyr Zelensky (b. 1978) is the president of Ukraine and a former comedian and television producer. Elected in 2019, he became an emblem of democratic resilience after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His declaration “The president is here,” delivered from Kyiv under bombardment, symbolizes a politics of presence and responsibility.

Snyder highlights Zelensky as a living example of positive freedom, arguing that by asserting his presence during a moment of crisis, Zelensky presented freedom as embodied in action rather than rhetoric. Snyder contrasts this with authoritarian disinformation campaigns that seek to erase or distort reality, arguing that democratic leaders demonstrate freedom by staying visible, accountable, and committed under threat.

Zelensky’s role also connects to Snyder’s broader themes of solidarity and factuality. His communication style—direct, embodied, and verifiable—models the kind of truth-based politics that sustains democracy. In emphasizing Zelensky’s courage, Snyder underscores his claim that freedom depends not on impersonal forces like markets or algorithms but on individuals who act responsibly within communities. For readers, Zelensky becomes a contemporary touchstone proving that liberty is fragile but can be renewed through civic courage.

Leszek Kołakowski (1927-2009) was a Polish philosopher and historian of ideas, best known for his critiques of Marxism and explorations of pluralism. After breaking with the Polish Communist Party in the 1960s, he became an influential intellectual in exile, teaching at Oxford and the University of Chicago. His work emphasized the limits of ideology and the need for humility in confronting value conflicts.

Snyder relies on Kołakowski to frame his account of unpredictability. Kołakowski’s theory of value pluralism stresses that virtues make absolute claims but often come into conflict. This condition forces individuals and societies to exercise judgment, invent new virtues, and balance competing goods over time. For Snyder, such processes inject unpredictability into human life, resisting the flattening tendencies of authoritarianism or algorithmic systems.

Kołakowski’s importance lies in his philosophical contributions and in his example of intellectual dissent under authoritarian rule. Snyder presents him as part of a larger Eastern European tradition that preserved freedom by refusing conformity. By invoking Kołakowski, Snyder situates freedom in the active, creative negotiation of values, reinforcing his claim that liberty is a dynamic practice rather than a static inheritance.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American sociologist, historian, and civil rights activist whose work transformed understandings of race and democracy. A co-founder of the NAACP, Du Bois combined scholarship with activism, producing influential texts such as The Souls of Black Folk (1903). His concept of “double consciousness” describes how Black Americans experience themselves both through their own perspective and through the hostile gaze of a racist society.

Snyder turns to Du Bois in his discussion of mobility, showing how freedom of movement is shaped by appearance, perception, and racialized stereotypes. Du Bois’s idea of double consciousness highlights how prejudice can reduce the Leib—the lived, subjective body—to the Körper, the body as object. This reduction constrains agency and erodes sovereignty, trapping individuals in patterns of unfreedom.

By bringing Du Bois into dialogue with contemporary accounts of mass incarceration and racial inequality, Snyder underscores how systemic racism immobilizes entire communities. Du Bois becomes a historical figure and a continuing voice, linking the pursuit of mobility to struggles for recognition and equality. His thought reinforces Snyder’s theme that freedom requires community and solidarity rather than isolation or domination.

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a psychiatrist, philosopher, and revolutionary from Martinique whose writings on colonialism and race continue to shape postcolonial theory. His major works, including Black Skin, White Masks (1952) and The Wretched of the Earth (1961), analyze how colonial domination deforms both colonizer and colonized. Fanon argued that liberation requires political independence as well as the decolonization of minds and bodies.

In On Freedom, Snyder uses Fanon’s insights to highlight how perception and stereotype immobilize individuals. Fanon’s account of being objectified by others’ gaze exemplifies how racism reduces subjects to objects, echoing Stein’s Körper/Leib distinction. Snyder connects this to experiences of his students and peers, showing how recognition—or its absence—shapes the very possibility of freedom.

Fanon also contributes to Snyder’s global scope. By situating freedom in the context of anticolonial struggles, Snyder shows that liberty cannot be confined to Western philosophical traditions. Fanon’s radical insistence on decolonization expands the book’s argument beyond Europe and the United States, underscoring that freedom is always social, embodied, and contested across history.