“Formerly no one was allowed to think freely; now it is permitted, but no one is capable of it any more. Now people want to think only what they are supposed to think, and this they consider freedom.”

It's the tribal instinct toward spouting the party line - the same instinct that impels the insecure towards religion or towards following someone like Hitler or to imagine, in the case of some tribes, that cannibalism is a perfectly natural part of life. Are YOU in the 'in' crowd?

It is a mental disorder, such as liberalism, that prevents many people from thinking for themselves.

Mr. Berg's comment is quite on the mark. He might have added Bush's name to bring the point even closer to home.

Dick, I thought I'd keep the references such that I might avoid having the current venomous climate blind the reader. Currently the mere mention of the name 'Bush' seems to addle brains on both sided of the ideological schism – before they have a chance to think. When it’s too close to home, it’s more difficult to see the forest for the trees. Good point though.

Kinda sorta almost accurate. Freedom is as inherent in the sentient being as is individual sovereignty, inalienable rights and liberty at nature’s law. Freedom to think is an eternal subcomponent of the broader “freedom”. Freedom to think can not be permitted or denied by corporeal man. More accurately, truth, facts, epistemology, etc. can forcibly be altered or refused from/to the sentient person changing the options within the scope of free thinking. Is free thinking really permitted (NOT more now than ever).

I get it.  The source for the quote is Spengler's 'The Decline of the West,' and this quote sums up that decline very well. 

The responses from Western nations' governments and their citizens during the Covid pandemic is a perfect example.  Since then, the freedom to think and to express those thoughts has been highly politicized and practically criminalized.  The decline of the West indeed!