Chapter 16 : Concept of Liberty

Concept of Liberty

Nature of Liberty

The concept of 'liberty' or 'freedom' is a universal principle of political philosophy, eulogized by liberal, idealist, and Marxist theories alike. While nobody quarrels with freedom as an end, different schools differ on the means of realizing it. The struggle for liberty is historically informed by the spirit of equality, often emerging when oppressed sections challenge the alleged superiority of their oppressors.

Freedom as the Quality of Human Being

• Distinctive human trait: Unlike animals, birds, and insects—which are governed by the blind rules of 'struggle for existence' and 'survival of the fittest'—humans have an 'aim of life' beyond mere existence.
• Creation of civilization: Humans have created civilization and culture in pursuance of this aim, learning to tame, control, and harness nature.
• Scientific knowledge: Freedom as a human quality manifests in the capacity to obtain scientific knowledge of the inexorable laws of nature and apply them for mankind's benefit. Without this, humans remain slaves to nature.
• Jacob Bronowski (1973) observed: "Every animal leaves traces of what it was; man alone leaves traces of what he creates."

Freedom as the Condition of Human Being

• Absence of constraint: In this realm, liberty is defined as the 'absence of constraint' or restraint, which can be internal or external.
• Negative liberty: In politics, the demand is largely confined to the removal of external, unreasonable restraints on a rational human being pursuing what is best for them and society.
• Positive liberty: In the widest philosophical sense, freedom requires the absence of internal constraints as well (e.g., physical pain, disease, ignorance, fear, or want). A state tends to secure positive liberty by minimizing all possible constraints in citizens' lives.
• Moral awakening: A person may not desire freedom due to slavery to superstitions, irrational customs, peer pressure, or consumer culture. Efforts must be made to arouse their conscience.
• Mahatma Gandhi noted: "Servitude is of two kinds : slavery to domination from outside, and to one's own artificial needs."
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract (1762) stated: "Slaves become so debased by their chains as to lose even the desire of breaking from…