How about a society based on H.C. Andersen's short tale "The Emperor's New Clothes"? The citizens are kept prisoners not by police brutality, but by financial means. The freedom of speech would be guaranteed by all kinds of "Charter of Rights" and Freedom Acts and Human Ridiculous Rights but in fact what you see will be a well organized system that will spread its propaganda deep in the large society's social layers. What about when the common citizen would be so abused, harassed, discriminated and discouraged for decades and would not have any choice but to be obedient and follow the official free democratic propaganda? What about when common people under the influence of fictional life would not be able to clearly separate reality from deception? Everything would just be an enormous machine which is fuelled by our deceptions and ignorance.
