No, you’re not getting it. Part of the problem is you’re entirely negative conception of freeom. Liberty is both positive, and negative. (‘Freedom to’, in addition to ‘Freedom from.’
That’s exactly how it works. People like you make a big deal about contracts but you ignore the fact that those contracts are entered into by unequal parties, and under duress. I didn’t negotiate with the corporation I work for. They dictated the terms, unilaterally. I had absolutely no input. I wasn’t even asked. Furthermore; I was one atomistic individual motivated by the need to maintain food and shelter, against a multimillion-dollar corporation with a team of lawyers, lobbyists, etc. They take the majority of the money that I, and my co-workers earn for themselves, while we are denied any input or participation, of any kind. The only alternative is to work for another private dictatorship, or starve to death. That’s the kind of ‘freedom’ you offer. If we apply the same criteria to politics; North Korea is a paradigm of liberty. ‘Nuff said.
Liberty is a bit more than that. Also; most of this is totally compatible with Libertarian Socialism. In a Libertarian society, you would still have the right to starve to death, which you so cherish. There’s also nothing about the manufacture of iPad’s, or an equivalent device, that necessitates a Nation-State, or a massive private dictatorship.
There is no contradiction, here. The contradiction is in your bemoaning the offense of a miniscule fraction of your taxes being spent on the minimal welfare state, while celebrating corporations taking a significantly larger sum of your earnings, without your consent. At least in the case of the state you actually have some influence.
