Pol Sem 2 Assignement

 What is liberty?
The word ‘liberty’ is derived from the Latin word ‘liber’ meaning ‘free’. So, liberty
means freedom.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Liberty is the power of a

man to do anything that does not injure others.”
CDH Cole has defined liberty as “the freedom of the individual to express without
external hindrances to personality.”
Liberty is the most essential condition for the enjoyment of rights. It is not the
absence of restraints. It is the positive condition for the enjoyment of rights. It admits
the presence of such rational restraints that satisfy the test of historical experiences
and reason.
 Analysis of the nature of liberty:

Liberty does not mean the absence of all restraints. Liberty admits the presence of
rational restraints and the absence of irrational restraints. Liberty indicates the
absence of special privileges. Everyone should enjoy liberty. Liberty is closely
connected to rights. There can neither be liberty without rights nor rights without
liberty, and liberty is for all. Liberty implies the presence of adequate opportunities
for all such that everyone can use their rights.
Liberty is only possible in a civil society and not in a state of nature or ‘state of
jungle’. State of anarchy can never be a state of liberty.
Liberty is also closely connected to law. In society, law is an essential condition of

liberty. Law maintains the conditions which are essential for the enjoyment of liberty
by all the people of the state.
Liberty has both positive and negative aspects:
1. NEGATIVE LIBERTY:
It means that the individual must be left alone to enjoy maximum liberty. In other
words, it is the absence of restraints. CDH Cole, Laski and Seeley support
negative liberty. Negative liberty implies the freedom to act in anyway one wants
to. Such a meaning of liberty can never be accepted in a civil society. In
contemporary times, negative conception of liberty stands rejected.
2. POSITIVE LIBERTY:
Positive liberty implies the creation of those conditions which help man to develop
his personality to the maximum extent. In other words, it provides an atmosphere
which helps the individuals to do their best. Liberty is the priceless treasure of
every man. In its positive sense, liberty is taken to mean freedom logical
restraints which are rational and have stood the test of time. These restraints are
considered essential for ensuring the enjoyment of liberty by all the people.
In a civil society, only positive liberty can be made available to the people.
Positive liberty implies two important things –
- Liberty is not the absence of restraints; it is the substitution of irrational restraints

by rational ones. Liberty means absence of only irrational and arbitrary restraints
and not all restraints.
- Liberty means equal and adequate opportunities for all to enjoy their rights.
 TYPES OF LIBERTY:
The concept of liberty is not static but dynamic and has undergone many changes
over the years. So, there are different varieties of liberty.
1. Natural Liberty:
It implies the unrestrained freedom to do what one pleases. Natural liberty cannot
exist in a state but was existing prior to the creation of state. The three social
contractualists – Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau speak of natural liberty in the
state of nature. It leads to anarchy and the survival of the fittest.
2. Civil Liberty:
The liberty which each member of the society enjoys as a member of society is
called civil liberty. It is equally available to all individuals. All enjoy equal freedom
and rights in society. However, it is not unrestrained liberty. It is enjoyed only
under certain restrictions (laws and rules) imposed by the state and society. The
state guarantees civil liberty and civil liberty also stands for the protection of rights
and freedom from undue interference.
3. Individual/ Personal Liberty:

Individual liberty means the freedom to pursue one’s desires and interests as a
person but which do not clash with the interests or desires of others. Right to life,
education, property, religion, family, speech, expression etc are under personal
liberty.
4. Moral Liberty:
It means the freedom to act according to one’s conscience. It stands for the
liberty to work for securing moral self-perfection. Freedom to pursue moral values
is moral freedom.
5. Political Liberty:
It is the foundation of democracy. Any citizen who enjoys political liberty is
capable of taking part in the political affairs of the state. Political liberty involves
the freedom to exercise the right to vote, right to contest elections, right to hold
public offices, right to criticise and oppose the policies of the government, right to
form political parties, interest groups and pressure groups. The real exercise of
political rights by the people is a clear sign of the presence of political liberty and
democracy.
6. Economic Liberty:
All other types of liberty have no meaning without economic liberty. Economic
Liberty means freedom from wants, hunger & insecurity. So economic liberty
implies that a person should have his basic necessities like food, clothing and
shelter if he has to truly enjoy his civil or political liberty. Political rights have no
meaning to a person who is starving or unemployed. Without economic liberty
democracy will be meaningless. Examples for economic liberty are Right to work,
Equal pay for equal work, right to adequate Rest & Leisure, right to social security
measures for disabled, sick, old, unemployed & so on.
7. National Liberty:
It means the liberty of the nation or national freedom/independence. National
liberty indicates the internal & external sovereignty of the state. Every free nation
enjoys the freedom to determine its own political destiny both internally &
externally. National liberty has to be ensured first in order to realize the political,
civil & economic liberties. National liberty is a collective sense of liberty enjoyed
by the nation as a whole.
8. Religious Liberty:
It means the freedom to profess or not to profess any religion. It means the
freedom of faith and worship and non-intervention of state in religious affairs of
the people. It also means equal status of all religions to freely carry out their
activities in society. Secularism demands such a religious freedom.
 IMPORTANCE OF LIBERTY:
1. Development of Personality:
It is essential for the development of the individual’s personality. Liberty ensures
the availability of opportunities for development to everyone in society. In the
absence of liberty, a person remains weak as his initiatives & enthusiasm are
curbed.
2. Rights are meaningful only with liberty:
Rights & liberty are inseparable. Rights exist due to the promotion of liberty. All
the rights become significant only if connected to liberty. Liberty becomes
meaningful only if it is transformed into rights & protected by the state.
3. Liberty provides a sense of satisfaction:

Liberty is a highly valued possession of every man. There is no one in the world
who does not want liberty. Many wars and revolutions were fought to achieve
liberty. Thus, liberty is regarded as a great value for which people are ready to
give up anything. It is a self- satisfying ideal.
4. Leads to creation of democratic states:

Democracy is not merely a form of government, but also a way of life. An
individual enjoys complete freedom only in a democratic government. It is the
love of liberty by majority of people that leads to struggle for freedom & creation
of democratic states.
5. Liberty creates self - responsibility:

Liberty of one man has to be consistent with the liberty of others. Each individual
enjoys liberty only if he respects the liberty of others in society. Liberty
unaccompanied by reasonable restraints ceases to be called as liberty. Thus,
liberty creates personal & group responsibilities.
 ESSENTIAL SAFEGUARDS OF LIBERTY:
1. Love for liberty:

Only when people are strongly in love with their liberty, can liberty be really
safeguarded. Liberty needs continuous attempts on part of people to defend their
liberty.
2. Eternal Vigilance:
The commitment of the people to defend their liberty and their full alertness
against any encroachment of their liberty is the second most important safeguard
of liberty.
3. Grant of equal rights to all:

For safeguarding liberty, it is essential that there should be no class of privileged
persons in the society. Liberty can exist only when equal rights are granted and
guaranteed to all the people without any discrimination.
4. The rights of one should not be dependent on the will of others:

Laski suggests that the state must ensure than the rights and freedom of any
person should not be dependent upon the will and happiness of others. The
rulers and the ones being ruled should both be under the rule of law.

Pol Sem 2 Assignement

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 What is liberty?

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Liberty is the power of a

 Analysis of the nature of liberty:

Liberty is also closely connected to law. In society, law is an essential condition of

Liberty has both positive and negative aspects:

- Liberty is not the absence of restraints; it is the substitution of irrational restraints

3. Individual/ Personal Liberty:

3. Liberty provides a sense of satisfaction:

4. Leads to creation of democratic states:

5. Liberty creates self - responsibility:

 ESSENTIAL SAFEGUARDS OF LIBERTY:

1. Love for liberty:

3. Grant of equal rights to all:

4. The rights of one should not be dependent on the will of others:

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