Freud's argument. People are afraid of being insignificant, so they seek a powerful backer, and grand narratives serve as the best anchor point. It allows them to integrate into what appears to be a massive collective without having to put in effort or struggle.

People also fear uncertainty, as discussed in *Escape from Freedom*: In truth, people yearn to be deprived of freedom because freedom also means you must make choices on a desolate, hopeless plain and carve out your own path.

But when someone hands you a path, it means you don’t have to choose. The inevitability of human freedom is actually a curse; thus, when others provide ready-made positions—or even ready-made ways of thinking—it neatly satisfies the need for certainty.

Yet the world has always been ruled by armed adults over helpless man-children, so when everything is stripped away, it’s hardly worth pity. This is the so-called distinction between what is and isn’t worth it—the hardest point to debate.

Are humans destined for freedom? Is freedom ultimately a curse or a blessing?