Freedom (political)

Freedom is the right, or the capacity, of self-determination, as an expression of the individual will.

Table of contents

1 History of Freedom
2 Forms of Freedom
3 Anecdotes on Freedom
4 Sayings on Freedom
5 See Also

History of Freedom

Gertrude Himmelfarb describes John Milton's Areopagitica as the "Magna Carta of free thought". Traditionally philosophers have distinguished two senses of the word "freedom". The most common use is "negative" and is defined as the absence of constraint. Thus for Hobbes, one is free when the law is silent on a subject. But "freedom" is also used in another "positive" sense, where freedom is defined as the ability to transcend the social and cultural restraints which limit the potential of the individual for self-actualization. This latter sense is common to Romanticism and the individualistic philosophy of 19th century Germany.

One of the most notable contributors to the modern conception of freedom is 19th Century English philosopher John Stuart Mill who, in his magnus opus On Liberty, outlines several freedoms which were deficient in Victorian Britain. He largely bases his political philosophy on the harm principle - which basically demands that people do as they will unless someone is harmed (physically).

Forms of Freedom

Another common distinction made between kinds of freedom is the difference between "freedom from" social and political ills (which, some argue, is really more accurately described as safety or security), and "freedom to" do what one wants (for which some consider the term "liberty" more precise).

Political freedom is often connected to thoughts of civil liberties and human rights.

In most Western democratic societies, key freedoms legally protected by the government include:

Many nations have specific chapters of their constitutions which codify these freedoms in a bill of rights.

The concept of what constitutes true "freedom" is often disputed by different groups on the political spectrum. For example, in right-wing libertarianism (i.e., libertarianism as it is understood in United States; see libertarian socialism for libertarianism as it is understood in most of the rest of the world) freedom is defined in terms of lack of government interference; in particular, capitalists place a high value on freedom from government interference in the economy. This kind of freedom may be referred to as a kind of negative liberty.

Those on the poltical left, such as Marxists, may criticize negative liberty as placing too much emphasis on the needs of the individual, while ignoring the goal of social equality. They may be more likely to see freedom in terms of positive liberty, which can be described as the freedom to act to realize one's own potential. Freedom in this sense may include freedom from want, poverty, deprivation, or oppression. Many anarchists see negative and positive liberty as complimentary concepts of freedom.

Environmentalists such as the Greens often argue that political freedoms should include some social constraint on use of ecosystems. There is no such thing, for instance, as "freedom to pollute" or "freedom to deforest" given the downstream consequences. The popularity of SUVs, golf, and urban sprawl show that some ideas of freedom and ecological conservation can clash. This leads at times to serious confrontations, e.g. the Earth Liberation Front's arson of homes enroaching on the desert, and clashes of values reflected in advertising campaigns, e.g. that of PETA regarding fur.

In jurisprudence, freedom is the right of autonomously determining one's own actions; generally it is granted in those fields in which the subject has no obligations to fulfil or laws to obey, according to the interpretation that the hypothetical natural unlimited freedom is limited by the law for some matters.

Anecdotes on Freedom

"Although you (the Persian satrap, Hydarnes) know what it's like to be a slave, you've never experienced freedom and you have no idea whether or not it's a pleasant state. If you had experienced it, you'd be advising us to wield not spears, but even battleaxes in its defence."
The reply of two aristocratic Spartiates, Spethias the son of Aneristus and Bulis the son of Nicolaus, at a dinner party to Hydarnes of their refusal to be on good terms with the Persian King. Recorded by Xenophon The Histories, Bk VII, sec 135.

Sayings on Freedom

"Eλευθερος γ θανατος" (Freedom or Death!)
—Cretan War cry.
"Give me Liberty or give me Death!"
—Patrick Henry