Three Aspects of Liberty

Liberty as such manifests itself in one or more of its three aspects: liberty of thought, liberty of speech and liberty of action. Every individual or group of individuals seeks liberty either to think, say or do something. There is no liberty if he or she is prevented from thinking or saying or doing something, as he or she likes, by the force of the State or law, or by the opinion of the majority, social customs or religious conventions, etc. of the three aspects, liberty of speech, including, liberty of reading, writing and discussion, is the most essential factor because the liberty of the thought and action would automatically-follow from it.

When the people are free to say anything they like, they criticise each other’s opinions. From discussion and criticism arises truth, as it is sifted out by conflicting opinions and views. Thus liberty of speech becomes a free enquiry into truth. Finally, when the people know the truth, they act upon it. In this way a free people move from one freedom to another.

Liberty develops personality and makes life a fine art

Liberty, especially the liberty of speech and action, is the most essential factor for the development of personality. Rousseau was absolutely right when he said that “to renounce liberty is to renounce humanity, the right to be a man.” Laski expresses the same thought when he says, “to allow a man to say what he thinks is to give his personality the only ultimate channel of full expression and his citizenship the only means of moral adequacy.” Moreover, there is only one meaning in life, the art of living itself, and this art of living requires that one is free from commands and restrictions. Freedom implies the capacity to change one’s life, to make every day practically better; it means to try to alter our environment, the world we live in.

Liberty assures good government

Freedom, especially freedom of speech and discussion, is of utmost importance for good government. The people must enjoy civil liberty, that is, the freedom of speech, press and assembly or association in political affairs, in order that the government may be responsive to the will of the people and to change it if they so desire. The freedom of discussion and criticism would restrain the government, especially its executive organ, from hasty and oppressive acts for the fear of provoking adverse criticism. Law becomes the mirror of public opinion when the government, especially its legislative organ, is attuned to the influences of the opinion of the people as expressed in press, platform and election or by the exercise of political right of franchise. Viewed thus, liberty becomes the basis of the State, for freedom does not depend upon the State, but the State depends upon free men.

Liberty of the-individual is the starting-point of aU human progress in arts, science, culture and industry

It is from the individual human mind that everything comes. Everything in science or art, philosophy or industry was first thought or done by one man or woman. But in the past and in the present dictatorships, his or her expression of thought and action was resisted or opposed by other persons, by the majority in power, by social or religious rules or political authority, as a heresy or unorthodox opinion. It is exactly in such heresy and unorthodoxy that the secret of progress and human greatness lies, for the heresy of today is the orthodoxy of tomorrow. What was condemned as heresy yesterday is accepted as a commonplace truth today. ‘The world gains nothing”, observes Laski, “from a refusal to entertain the possibility that a new idea may be true.

Nor can we pick and choose among our citizens. It protects the rights and liberty of an individual by preventing others from interfering his liberty and rights. It protects the weak against the strong. If law does not perform this important function, no man will have any liberty. The weak will be at the mercy of the strong and would mean might is right. There will be chaos and anarchy in the society. Such a society will be like Hobbes’ State of Nature, “where life is nasty, brutish and short”. This is the-negative aspect of the relation between law and liberty, (ii) Law is also positively connected with liberty. It creates those essential conditions without which liberty cannot be enjoyed at all. They are education, sanitation, factory laws for good working conditions, cultural and intellectual development, etc. These are the opportunities for moral and intellectual development, which law creates equally for all individuals. Law creates the moral and social scope “for our personal initiative in things that add to our moral stature.”

For instance, the law that orders compulsory education for children is not a restriction on the freedom of the parents to employ their children as they like, but a necessary condition for the moral and intellectual development of the young people. It enables the future citizens to develop their personality. Law, therefore, is not the negation of liberty, but is in fact the medium of liberty, (iii) Law also creates conditions of liberty by putting restrictions on the authority of the government. This is done by the supreme law of the land, the constitution. The constitution restrains the Government and its departments from interfering or denying the enjoyment of liberty and rights by the citizens.

But every prohibition or restraint imposed by law is not conducive to or a guarantee of liberty. If a law imposes such restrictions on the nctivities of an individual which hinder his moral or creative development, it is against liberty. As Laski writes, “What each of us desires in life is room for our personal initiative in the things that add to our moral stature. What is destructive of our freedom is a system of prohibitions which limits the Initiative there implied.” Those laws which deny the citizens the right to express opinion, or act for their moral progress, are opposed to liberty. They do not create liberty, but destroy it.

 

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