The word ‘freedom’ gets brought up a lot, by all kinds of people. But what does it even mean?
Regardless of your personal political leanings, you will likely have heard someone who agrees with you and someone who disagrees with you, talking about how their freedoms are being curtailed. Politicians of all stripes use the word frequently, often with a generic-sounding phase like, “I’ll fight for your freedoms!”
Certainly, this sounds good. We all want to be free, right? Free to say and do what we want without government interference. Of course, complete individual freedom immediately comes into conflict with other individual freedoms. My right to drive on the wrong side of the road conflicts with your right to have a safe commute.
What we say and do impacts other people, and so there have to be rules, and those rules place limits on our freedoms. The first amendment, for instance, guarantees free speech, but even free speech has limits.
Additionally, there seems to be some confusion about consequences. Free speech means you have the right to say any offensive thing you want. But other people then also have the right to think you are a jerk for saying them. Which might mean you get fired from your job, or friendships might end. You are not free from consequences of your speech and/or actions.
Most people agree that one person’s freedom does not permit them to injure or kill someone else. But what about injury to themselves? Or injuries to society as a whole? Most people seem to agree that requiring drivers to wear seatbelts is an overall good, for example, even though it limits the freedom of the driver.
How do you define freedom? Do you feel that our society is more free than not? In what ways are your freedoms being restricted? Are there times when that restriction is a good thing?
Related questions: Are you free? What makes something a human right? Freedom or security?
Freedom is a contested concept in America.
Some ideologies emphasize negative freedoms, or “freedom from.” From this perspective, people should be free from unjustified interference by government or others. Examples include freedom from government restrictions on speech or religion and protection against unjustified interference with private property. The familiar saying, “Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins,” captures one aspect of this understanding of freedom: our freedoms have limits when exercising them violates someone else’s rights.
Other ideologies emphasize positive freedoms, or “freedom to.” From this perspective, freedom means more than simply being left alone. It also means having the resources and opportunities to thrive. What good is the freedom to pursue an education, for example, if you cannot afford to attend college? Public education, healthcare, and social support are ways to help people do more than just possess rights on paper. They help people exercise those rights in their lives.
I believe freedom extends beyond “freedom from.” It also requires a commitment to “freedom to.” That means recognizing that private property rights are not absolute, that taxation helps fund the institutions and services that sustain our democracy, and that we must guard against excessive concentrations of economic power. Together, these principles help create a more equitable society in which people have not only rights but also the means and opportunities to exercise them.