Freedom & Equality: Opposite Ends of The Enlightenment Stick

"Both capitalism and socialism draw strength from a vision of human life, and this vision sustains them in face of their failures. For capitalism it is the vision of freedom - the freedom of the individual person to develop his own powers, to achieve the greatest success he is capable of and to enjoy the fruit of his achievement. For socialism it is the vision of equality. ... Both derive from the Enlightenment vision of human beings as autonomous individuals with innate and equal rights to pursue self-chosen ends to the limit of their powers. Each ideology can accuse the other of violating a faith they both hold by the denial of freedom on the one side and by the denial of equality on the other. ... The breakdown of relationships will destroy freedom and will destroy equality, but neither of these will be achieved by being sought for itself. True freedom is not found by seeking to develop the powers of the self without limit, for the human person is not made for autonomy but for true relatedness in love and obedience; and this also entails the acceptance of limits as a necessary part of what it means to be human."


Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks, p. 118-119 (emphasis mine)