Read just the first chapter of John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" (free via Project Gutenberg etc) and tell me that he didn't have his finger precisely on the pulse — in the 1850s — of the root cause...
To avoid political debate, the key is to turn the discussion to fundamental human needs. These needs include freedom and privacy, this can be demonstrated scientifically. Also, talking about needs takes us straight to the point of the matter: human beings and the provision of what we need to thrive.