Freedom Isn't Free

When it comes to the idea of individual freedom, I agree with certain ideas from both Marx and Mill. I understand Mill's argument that as long as the government is not literally forcing you to do something you are free, because everyone has free will. Unless they are being physically forced into something they don't want to do, or being held against their will, they are able to exercise this free will and this makes them a free person. However, Marx also makes a great point. While we may have free will and freedom over our bodies and actions, we have already been programmed by society to think and act a certain way, so in reality we are not free. We are free to do what we like, but we are not free from outside influences that change our actions and who we are as individuals. We are not free from the economic and social structure others use to define us. What I don't necessarily agree with is Marx's idea that we need some sort of active state intervention to make sure we are making our own economic decisions. This sounds good on paper, but it's not practical and realistically wouldn't work with the current social, political, and economic system. The idea that the government would be the one in charge of making sure we all make our own economic decisions is very scary to me. Call me a person of little faith, but history has shown us that situations like this often result in extreme forms of corruption, with the state using their power to further limit the individual in order to ensure that their ideas and beliefs fit with those that most benefit the state. So while I agree that we need to have some way to ensure we are free to make our own economic choices, I don't think intervention by the state is the answer. Unfortunately, with the current structure of our economic and political systems, I'm not sure there is a workable solution at this point.