Liberty, often referred to as freedom, is the foundational principle that grants individuals the ability to make choices and live without excessive constraints, serving as a cornerstone of democratic societies.
Introduction
The concept of liberty, derived from the Latin word ‘liber’ meaning freedom, holds a significant place in the realm of political philosophy and social values, particularly within the framework of liberalism. Liberty is often associated with the absence of restraints, and it has been a driving force behind numerous revolutionary struggles against despotism and foreign regimes.
Liberty can be used interchangeably with the term ‘freedom,’ and it represents not just the absence of external constraints but also inner autonomy, the ability to act in accordance with one’s rational judgment.
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Definitions of Liberty
There are various definitions of liberty provided by different thinkers, highlighting its multifaceted nature.
Seeley: Liberty is the opposite of over government.
Rousseau: Liberty consists in obedience to the General Will.
Green: Liberty is the positive power of doing and enjoying those things that are worthy of doing and enjoying.
Laski: Liberty is the absence of restraints upon the existence of social conditions that are necessary for individual happiness in modern civilization.
Macpherson: Liberty is about living life to the fullest.
C.D Burns: Liberty as to grow to one’s natural height and to develop one’s ability.
Hegel: Liberty involves obedience to the law.
Marxist tradition: Liberty is both liberation from coercive social apparatus and institutions and the establishment of an atmosphere in which individuals can build a world according to the needs of humanity.
G.D.H Cole: Liberty is the freedom of individuals to express their personality without external hindrances.
Mckechnie: Freedom is not the absence of all restraints, rather substituting rational ones for the irrational.
Nature of Liberty
The nature of liberty can be explained in various ways:
- Freedom as the quality of a human being: Liberty is the fulfillment of human purposes by attaining knowledge of the laws of nature, leading to the development of civilization and culture.
- Freedom as the condition of a human being: It involves the ability to fulfill one’s self-appointed goals, with the state not interfering in this matter or working towards establishing a welfare state.
- Harold Laski’s perspective: He views liberty as the product of rights, emphasizing that it’s a positive concept that goes beyond the mere absence of restraints and is closely related to the availability of opportunities.
Types of Liberty
Liberty can also be examined through different dimensions:
- Natural Liberty: The proponents of social contracts, such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, were among the first to champion the concept of natural liberty. They believed that humans are born free and should have complete freedom, echoing the ideas put forth by Rousseau. They argued that although humans are born with freedom, societal constraints often limit their liberties in the civilized world.
- Civil Liberty: This pertains to an individual’s personal liberty, including physical freedom, intellectual freedom, and practical freedom. According to Barker “Civil Liberty is the ability of a man in the capacity of an individual person”
- Political Liberty: It involves the freedom of participation in the political process, encompassing rights such as the right to vote, the right to contest elections, and the right to hold public office. William Blackstone referred to “Political Liberty as the capacity of a power of curbing government”.
- Economic Liberty: Economic liberty, as defined by Laski, means freedom from the wants of tomorrow and the availability of adequate opportunities for earning a livelihood. Without fair economic liberty, political liberty becomes meaningless.
- Moral liberty: Moral Liberty empowers an individual to develop into a rational being capable of distingui