i think you have conflated some political rhetoric with reality there.<p>free means free. its an abstract ideal...<p>you do not live in a country where people are free, &#x27;free country&#x27; and &#x27;liberty&#x27; are politically charged terms which evoke particular ideals, which don&#x27;t directly map to the meaning of the word &#x27;freedom&#x27;.<p>a big part of society is that we willingly give up certain freedoms for the greater good - this is what law is all about.<p>in this particular case i think its clear cut. the GPL stops software from being free compared to an MIT or BSD style license...