Freedom (political)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Part of a series on |
| Freedom |
| By concept |
|
Philosophical freedom |
| By form |
|---|
|
Assembly |
| Other |
|
Censorship |
Political freedom is the right, or the capacity and ability, of self-determination as an expression of the individual will.
Contents |
[edit] Types
The concept of political freedom is closely allied with the concepts of civil liberties and human rights. Most democratic societies are professedly characterized by various freedoms which are afforded the legal protection of the state. Some of these freedoms may include (in alphabetical order):
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of association
- Freedom to bear arms
- Freedom from government sanctioned discrimination
- Freedom of education
- Freedom of movement (or travel)
- Freedom of the press
- Freedom of religion (or belief)
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of thought
- Sexual freedom
- Intellectual freedom
- Freedom from military occupation, colonialism, or Imperialism (see Freedom Fighter)
[edit] Views
Various groups along the political spectrum naturally differ on what they believe constitutes "true" political freedom. Friedrich Hayek famously noted that "liberty" and "freedom" have probably been the most abused words in recent history.
In libertarianism, freedom is defined in terms of interference with the individual pursuit of happiness either by government or other persons, where interference is defined as unreasonably preventing others from realising their will in their chosen course of action or in their use of things. Contrary to popular belief, libertarians are not pro-business. Rather, they simply oppose interference in any consenting acts between adults, including capitalist acts. Generally businesses favour regulations that protect them from competition, which requires many restrictions on consenting capitalist acts between adults. Libertarians call for freedom from coercion, governmental and civilian, in social, political, and economic matters.
On the other hand, those on the political left place more emphasis on freedom as the ability of the individual to realize one's own potential and pursuit of happiness. Freedom in this sense may include freedom from want, poverty, deprivation, or oppression.
Many anarchists with the exception of individualist anarchists, anarcho-capitalists, and particularly anarchists that don't qualify their type of anarchism see negative and positive liberty as complementary concepts of freedom. Anarchists that recognize the concepts of negative and positive liberty tend to be left-leaning anarchists such as communist anarchists.
Some treat freedom as if it were almost synonymous with democracy, while others see conflicts or even opposition between the two concepts. For example, some people argue that Iraq was free under Paul Bremer on the grounds that it was a rational, humanist, non-subjugating government, long before elections were held[citation needed]. Others have argued that Iraq was free under Saddam Hussein because Iraq was not a colony[citation needed], while a third claim is that neither Dictatorial nor Colonial rule in Iraq are examples of political freedom.
Environmentalists often argue that political freedoms should include some social constraint on use of ecosystems. They maintain 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 has been used as evidence that some ideas of freedom and ecological conservation can clash. This leads at times to serious confrontations and clashes of values reflected in advertising campaigns, e.g. that of PETA regarding fur.
There have been numerous philosophical debates over the nature of freedom, the claimed differences between various types of freedom, and the extent to which freedom is desirable. Determinists argue that all human actions are pre-determined and thus freedom is an illusion. Isaiah Berlin saw a distinction between negative liberty and positive liberty.
In jurisprudence, freedom is the right to determine one's own actions autonomously ; generally it is granted in those fields in which the subject has no obligations to fulfill or laws to obey, according to the interpretation that the hypothetical natural unlimited freedom is limited by the law for some matters.
[edit] Recent trends
In modern times the expansion of "freedom" around the world is considered by some to be synonymous with increased participation in democratic political systems.
In the 20th Century, the world observed a great reverse in terms of political situation, since the revolutionary struggles in areas of the world suddenly succeeded in establishing freedom from foreign colonialists and domination, at least in places like Africa, even though others may argue that the Cold War caused most of these new states to become puppet states for various regimes such as in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
[edit] Quotes
(see also Quotes about Freedom)
- "Ελευθερία ή θάνατος" (Freedom or death)
—Greek War cry during their war of independence. - "Give me Liberty or give me Death!"
—Patrick Henry - "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."
—Mahatma Gandhi - "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains."
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau - "Sloboda ili Smrt" (Freedom or death)
—Former Yugoslavic Republic Of Macedonian national motto - "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety"
—Benjamin Franklin - "The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defence are the constitutional rights secure."
—Albert Einstein - "Live free or die"
—Motto of US state of New Hampshire
