For instance, a society where gays feel ashamed about their sexuality, women feel guilty about their perceived shortcomings as mothers, their lacking beauty and their inadequate careers, and men feel envious about the supposedly higher social status of others, is a more oppressive society than—all other things equal—one in which these emotions are less prevalent. People who have their lives controlled by such emotions are simply less free than those who do not. There are different emotional regimes in different societies.
