Do you really mean to say that by banning something, free will will
flourish?
banning advertising ---leads to---> increased free will
limiting choices ---leads to---> increased choices
?
I agree that a materialistic outlook on the part of a large part of the
population, at least in the US, is causing problems. But there is a
distrinction between materialism(consumerism) and capitalism. Check out
'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand for more on this. To blame advertising for
rampant materialism is like blaming your runny nose for making you sick. The
'blame', if we must place blame, lies with the individual who can not or
will not think for themselves and distinguish between wants and needs, right
and wrong. I once watched a lecture on public television by some PhD (sorry
I can't give a better reference, this was about seven years ago) who was
discussing the problems with the American school systems. He cited a
government report from the 18th century in which the feds decided that
having more than a very small percentage of the population who were 'free
thinkers' would be bad for society. He went on to discuss how the public
education system is designed, therefore, NOT to produce thinkers, just
followers. That's what makes society run...all the static quality
represented by dependable hard-workers. This should be changed but I don't
think you can 'force' people to change their thinking by banning something.
In fact, history has shown that banning something is a guaranteed way to
make something popular. Those of you with children can relate...your kids
are just dying to do the things you told them not to do! At the very least,
'forcing' people to certain behaviors seems very low Quality to me.
IMHO
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