It was a dramatic metaphor, and a lazy one at that. However, there is a grain of truth in the idea of freedom. A slave could not choose who they worked for or

It was a dramatic metaphor, and a lazy one at that. However, there is a grain of truth in the idea of freedom. A slave could not choose who they worked for or what they did with their lives. The metaphor points out that those of us who think we do may be deluding ourselves to a certain extent. There are very few people - proportional to the population - who get to do anything they want all day long without consequence. Freedom vs. slavery may be a scale rather than a "vs.", and in that, I think there is a point. And yes, you're right, if you are being paid but not saving, you are in essence enslaved to another master, that of consumerism and desire. If you can avoid being "on trend", it's possible true freedom is yours a decade or two earlier than the next chap. But it tells you a lot about society that this is hard to achieve for many people.