Category: Principles Of Liberty And Freedom

In his book, On Liberty, J. S. Mill declares that the subject of his book is not ‘Liberty of the Will’, … but Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual.’ In the sense of safeguarding the liberty of individual or the minority… Continue reading Civil or Social Liberty

We can understand natural liberty in terms of liberty naturally available to the people. It implies unrestricted and unfettered liberty to do what one wills in a stage of natural condition. This can be possible only when we conceive a stage in which either there is a situation of licentious liberty as Hobbes thought it… Continue reading Natural Liberty

As hinted earlier, liberty or freedom has been understood in a variety of ways. Some common understanding and interpretation may be discussed in the following manner.

Realization of liberty and freedom as an integral part of human, moral and self-development require either un-interfered action as an agent or provision of enabling conditions. It is also dependent on fulfillment of certain other institutional and constitutional requirements.

The terms liberty and freedom have been defined and interpreted differently by writers and thinkers using different perspectives. To appreciate the meaning, nature, scope, relationship of liberty with authority and liberty and equality, etc. we should look at how they have been defined. From the brief survey of how liberty and freedom have been treated… Continue reading Liberty and Freedom Defined

Liberty and freedom as principles of organizing political and civic and political societies have always been a concern of political thinkers and statesmen. Greeks put liberty and freedom at the core of civic life. They were concerned with the collective life and active participation of the individual in the affairs of the polis. Pericles, a… Continue reading A Brief History of Liberty and Freedom

In this chapter we will discuss the principle of liberty. The word ‘liberty’ has come from the Latin word libertas or liber meaning ‘free’. As a principle of political theory, it signifies the sphere of freedom to the individual against the authority of the State or any such authority delegated. In this sense, it means ‘absence of restraint’ or… Continue reading Meaning and Sphere of Liberty and Freedom

A major concern of political theory has been to resolve the sphere and scope of actions of the authority and the individual. This issue has drawn attention to the principles that define or determine the limit and scope of their relationship. Principles of rights and liberty primarily deal with state-individual relationship and define how much… Continue reading Introduction