While I am broadly sympathetic to the freedom of association idea, there is the question of how free it is. Because if person x is pressuring person y not to associate with person z, then person y isn't really free to associate now, are they? There is explicit pressure to change who other people are associating with and its hard to see a compelled choice as free in any meaningful way.
Though I suppose I have myself not joined certain groups because of the presence of other people that I'd rather avoid. Although I suppose the difference there is not that I wouldn't associate with people or groups that associate with that person, because I would and do, but I do not want any contact with them for personal reasons. I think that is also quite different to avoiding people because of different beliefs or values.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
While I am broadly sympathetic to the freedom of association idea, there is the question of how free it is. Because if person x is pressuring person y not to associate with person z, then person y isn't really free to associate now, are they? There is explicit pressure to change who other people are associating with and its hard to see a compelled choice as free in any meaningful way.
Though I suppose I have myself not joined certain groups because of the presence of other people that I'd rather avoid. Although I suppose the difference there is not that I wouldn't associate with people or groups that associate with that person, because I would and do, but I do not want any contact with them for personal reasons. I think that is also quite different to avoiding people because of different beliefs or values.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~