Freedom as Structured Availability: 2 Structured Availability

Having dismantled the classical illusion of libertarian freedom, we can now see what freedom really is: a property of the relational architecture itself. It is not the absence of constraints, but the structure of what is available, and at what cost, within a network of dependencies.

---

Freedom as a Landscape of Possibility

Every agent or system exists in a web of constraints — physical, cognitive, social, or environmental. These constraints shape the topography of feasible paths:

• Flat regions: many paths are equally easy; persistence dominates.

• Gradiented regions: some paths are easier than others; directed change emerges.

• Blocked regions: some paths are infeasible; re-cutting costs are prohibitive.

Freedom, then, is the richness of the landscape of feasible re-cuts: the more minimally costly options exist, the greater the structured availability.

---

Example: Decision-Making in Context

Imagine a chess player:

• The board defines constraints: pieces can only move according to rules.

• The player’s knowledge defines further constraints: feasible strategies are those they can recognise and evaluate.

• A “choice” occurs where multiple feasible moves exist — each is a re-cut along paths of minimal cost.

No hidden agent or metaphysical escape is needed. The player’s freedom emerges entirely from the structured availability defined by the board, the rules, and their knowledge.

---

Example: Social Coordination

In a team meeting:

• Possible actions are constrained by social norms, project requirements, and interpersonal dependencies.

• Freedom arises not by ignoring these constraints, but by selectively actualising paths where constraints allow multiple viable outcomes.

• Apparent agency is simply the manifestation of local re-cutting in the relational network.

---

Relational Visualisation

We can depict structured availability as a network of nodes and weighted paths:

[Option A]───┐
                        ├─> [Outcome X]
[Option B]───┘
[Option C]───> [Outcome Y]

• Nodes: potential events or choices

• Edges: relational feasibility and cost

• Actualisation: selecting a path through minimally costly edges

Freedom is the breadth of feasible paths, not the absence of edges or nodes.

---

Key Takeaways

1. Freedom is always relational: it exists only as part of a network of constraints.

2. Constraints are enabling, not limiting: they shape the landscape in which structured choices can occur.

3. Apparent agency is emergent: choice is the actualisation of low-cost paths, not a metaphysical escape.