Which one of these values is more important than the other? In theory: None. Practically it depends on the circumstances in which each society is developing. The main factor affecting the prioritization of values in any society is "Wealth". Whenever wealth decreases, any society tends to adopt a system based on justice more than freedom, and whenever the wealth increase the society adopts a system more oriented toward freedom. There is also another important factor affecting the society choice of the value driving its development, which is "Diversity", whenever the diversity increases, the society tends to adopt justice as its first value, and whenever diversity decrease the society tends to adopt freedom as its core value. The title of this article has a bit of illusion in it as gives the impression of conflict between the two core values of human culture, which is definitely untrue; In contrast these two values complement each other, i.e. the correct implementation of each of them in the appropriate circumstances leads to the other, the precedent is based on a very important condition; society leadership awareness of the required transition from a value to another with respect to the achieved development.

Today, from India to Morocco, countries aspiring to reform are confronted with a singular persistent question that requires a structured and detailed answer.  If this reform is to be successfully developed and implemented by their own people, rather than letting it be imposed by outsiders.  Which value needs to be prioritized as a basis for this development? Justice or Freedom? 

This question, although it might seem simple, it reflects the current tragedy the Arab/Muslim world, and the entire orient in general is going through. The occident, represented currently by its most powerful western civilization "United States of America", is marketing an agenda that truly embrace modernism and is based mainly on "Freedom", while the oriental traditional alternative is a set fundamental religions, all based mainly on the "Justice" value.

Although our own oriental culture and heritage represented by religions, undeniably did not evolve in the past millennium, at least if compared to the huge advance in the occidental culture, we cannot still ignore the statistical facts that makes our today scenario; we're the "Third World". More than 72% of our population (around 252 million of the 350 Million Arab and around 720 Million out of 1 Billion Muslim) is less than "Poor", and our societies are increasingly getting fragmented instead of melting in more compact and powerful entities as in the occident. In other words, instead of having a union similar to what ties the "United States of America", the "European Union" or even the "ASIAN" countries (Far east countries) together, we have in the orient an increased tone of separatism that does not just aim at breaking compact entities like Algeria, Iraq, Egypt or Sudan in smaller entities for Tamazight, Arabs, Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Muslims, Christians, etc … but aim even at transforming even smaller entities like Lebanon, into a set of independent micro-ethnics each empowered by external macro-entities, whether it is Iran empowering Shiite or the west empowering Christians, which literally transform us into a battle field where the interests of these micro-entities compete regardless of our own will or interests. The bottom line is we're currently poor and fragmented in other words we lack wealth and the diversity (whether ethnic, religious or political) indicators are always increasing, which means we're in need for the "Justice" scenario rather than the "Freedom" scenario, in spite of the modernism problem.

The last thing we shall understand from the above that it is a call for fundamentalism, and radicalism, in fact this article here is not just about unveiling the false intentions behind the western freedom agenda being marketed to us, but it is also to say a very important point: The consumer model, is not just about importing cars, videos and hi-tech Gizmos! The consumer model includes also importing science and ideologies, instead of creating it. As a matter of fact we cannot get back in time and adapt thousands of years old models and apply it to today reality as much as we cannot import a model that fits other circumstances, and was not created by us, WE MUST DEVELOP OUR OWN IDEAS, and there is no alternative for this; to create our own civilization, our own industries, our own achievements, we have to start by creating our own culture. In this respect we shall neither ignore the achievements that has been done by others nor re-invent the wheel, we shall take in consideration every advancement of human race, and also extend our heritage into the future; no one is saying that developing our own culture is an easy task, it means that thousands if not millions of thinkers, writers, sheiks, priest, rabbis, journalists, artists, poets, etc … (anyone involved in culture) will have to work their minds for years making all the effort they can to create for us a modern culture. When our own modern culture will exist, only then our development will start, otherwise no matter what we do, what we import, what we revive from the past, will makes us advance for a reason or another.

To sum all the above, our culture fits more the scenario we're living, in other words, justice rather than freedom is the solution for our contemporary problems. It is extremely important to understand that justice implementation aims at reaching freedom, through fair distribution of wealth and closing the gap of rights that might be caused by diversity (of ethnics, religions, etc …). Our culture based on justice is yet incapable of doing the above if not developed to embrace modernity to be capable of making a change.

Finally, any reform will have neither be possible nor have a value, if its source is anything but our own will to be better human, the others around us must understand that reform cannot be imported like "Fast Foods", and that medications does not work the same way for everyone, the medication that might save someone might kill the other; we're a different case, different people, with different culture, living in different circumstances, "Boxed Solutions" doesn't work for us and what it is though to be a medication for us is going to kill us instead of curing us, not because freedom is wrong, bad or unnecessary, rather because it is not the cure for our social  illness.

Osama M. Hijji
10 April 2004.