Freedom is the presence of choice and the absence of constraints. On the other hand, independence is the presence of that choice again without being controlled or dependent on the needs of outside forces.
It is subtle, but we need to be precise. Independence requires a system to exercise meaningful freedom, just like having a key to a door but no door to unlock. If you start a business, you can argue that it is freedom. But if said business goes under, then it cannot create independence—in this case, economic independence.
Freedom is the key condition to independence. Just because we are given a choice doesn’t mean we are independent of the forces around us. We can trick ourselves into believing this is what freedom feels like, but it isn’t in its purest form.
Josh Allred's Blog 