By "free" I just mean not under the threat of physical violence.
I'm not sure about the grocery store example. I can think of several different grocery stores near me that have wildly varying prices for similar items. Whole Foods is a lot more expensive than Aldi, for example, and they don't really hide it. They're catering to a different market and offering a certain social cachet in addition to the food that some buyers appear to feel is worth it, as they are free to do.
> A logical explanation of that would be that as long as they guard their prices closely so you can't compare them easily online or whatever, once you go to the store, you are not completely free. If you are buying one thing because it's a good deal, it's easier to buy other things there as well.
Of course you're still free while you're at the store! Being mildly inconvenienced is not an impingement on freedom. Freedom doesn't mean everything is handed to you at maximum convenience. It means it a choice that you can make.
My main point is freedom is not a binary thing. Suppose that instead of a slight inconvenience, you have to leave your state. Or you have to move to another state. Or suppose that you have to move to another country. Or suppose that you have to give up everything material and flee your country. Or suppose that you have to sacrifice your family to escape the constraints. Or suppose that you can only kill yourself to escape your situation. It's a matter of degree, not of kind.
I'm not sure about the grocery store example. I can think of several different grocery stores near me that have wildly varying prices for similar items. Whole Foods is a lot more expensive than Aldi, for example, and they don't really hide it. They're catering to a different market and offering a certain social cachet in addition to the food that some buyers appear to feel is worth it, as they are free to do.
> A logical explanation of that would be that as long as they guard their prices closely so you can't compare them easily online or whatever, once you go to the store, you are not completely free. If you are buying one thing because it's a good deal, it's easier to buy other things there as well.
Of course you're still free while you're at the store! Being mildly inconvenienced is not an impingement on freedom. Freedom doesn't mean everything is handed to you at maximum convenience. It means it a choice that you can make.