The greatest blessing of our democracy is freedom. But in the last analysis, our only freedom is the freedom to discipline ourselves.

Baruch frames democratic freedom not as mere absence of restraint but as a demanding moral capacity. The “greatest blessing” of democracy—freedom—can deteriorate into license or chaos unless citizens and leaders practice self-governance: restraint, responsibility, and adherence to shared norms. By saying that “in the last analysis” our only freedom is the freedom to discipline ourselves, he echoes a classical republican idea that political liberty depends on personal virtue and self-control. The line also reflects Baruch’s outlook as a public adviser and financier: stable institutions and markets require individuals who can curb impulses, accept limits, and act for long-term common benefit rather than short-term self-interest.