6. Liberty

Everybody wants liberty, even a child wants to act with liberty. Everybody wants to think, take decision and act with liberty. Liberty is essential for the development of the life of an individual. To act with liberty is the nature of man. Some scholars claim their right to liberty to be a natural right and say that even before the origin of the state, the individual enjoyed the right to liberty in the state of nature. Right to liberty is a basic and fundamental right and the man has been fighting for liberty since long. Democratic state gives maximum liberty to the individual. Liberty and equality are the two pillars of democracy.
Meaning
Liberty is very important for the man. It is essential for the development of his life. It is only in the atmosphere of liberty and equality that an individual can attain his best self. But the people do not know the real meaning of liberty. Many think that liberty is to do whatever a man wants to do. They think liberty is the absence of all restraints. But that is not true. In society no person can be given the freedom to do whatever he likes. In society a man has to act according to certain rules, otherwise there would be chaos and there will be no peace and order. Rule of jungle will prevail in society if every man is left absolutely free from all checks and might would become right. Liberty in its real meaning is the freedom to do what is not harmful to the others, freedom to do what is good for the individual as well as for the society.
Various definitions of liberty have been given by the scholars. Some of them are as under :
According to Meckenzie, “Freedom is not the absence of all restraints, but rather the substitution of rational ones for the irrational.”
In the opinion of T.H. Green, “The positive power of doing or enjoying something worth doing or worth enjoying.”
Prof. Laski says, “By liberty I mean the eager maintenance of that atmosphere in which men have the opportunity to be at their best selves.”
According to Herbert Spencer, “Liberty is the freedom for every man to do that which he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man.”
According to Burns, “Liberty means liberty to grow to one’s natural height, to develop one’s abilities.”
Elements of Liberty
From the various definitions of liberty we come to know of its following elements :
Liberty is Not the Absence of all Restraints : When a man lives in society, he has to follow the rules of the society. These rules are for the benefit of all and to protect the life and property of the people. Only in at atmosphere of peace and order, the individual can enjoy liberty.
Liberty is the Maintenance of Atmosphere for the Development of Personality of Individuals : Liberty is that atmosphere in which the individual can realise his best self. Liberty is for the highest and fullest development of the life of the individual.
Liberty means Existence of Reasonable Restriction : Liberty means putting reasonable checks on the activities of the individual so that his actions may not be harmful to the others. Liberty does not mean absence of restrains, but absence of unreasonable and irrational restrictions.
Liberty means Power to do something Worth Doing : Liberty does not mean power to do everything but it means the power to do that which is worth doing in the society, something which is considered good and desirable in the society or something which is not undesirable in the society.
Liberty is given to All Alike : Liberty is not meant to give freedom to a particular person but is given to all alike on equal basis. It is right which is to be enjoyed by all so that the whole society may benefit from the atmosphere of liberty.
Liberty Cannot be exercised against Social Good : Liberty has to be exercised or enjoyed by the individual in such a way that it does not cause harm to the society, to the nation, to the state. A freedom which causes harm to others cannot be given to a member or to a few.
Liberty Exists only in a State : Liberty exists and can be enjoyed only in society and state. It has to be enjoyed within the framework of the law. Liberty is defined by law, it is protected by law. There can be no liberty outside the state. In an atmosphere outside the state the individual can enjoy power, his physical force, not the liberty or right.
Kinds of Liberty
Liberty plays an important role in the life of an individual. He cannot realise his fullest self in the absence of liberty. Life of the individual has many aspects and liberty in that aspect is called by that type of liberty. For example, liberty in economic life is called Economic Liberty, in political life is called Political Liberty and so on. Thus there are various kinds of liberty as given below :
Natural Liberty
There are some scholars who are of the opinion that some liberty has been given to the individual by nature. This liberty was enjoyed by the individual even before the emergence of the state. Society or state cannot deprive the man from enjoyment of that liberty. Even today man enjoys that liberty. Some scholars say that natural liberty is that liberty which is essential for the man because of his nature. Thus liberty is natural and essential both and has to be given to the individual even in a despotic state.
But the concepts of natural liberty cannot be accepted. Liberty given by nature must be unlimited and unrestrained. In society no man can be given unrestrained freedom to do whatever he likes. There can be no liberty outside the state and in an atmosphere of unlimited and unrestrained liberty, might becomes right. Natural liberty cannot be enjoyed by all the people alike and it cannot be for the good for the society. Some liberty is essential for the development of life of individual because of his nature. In that sense the concept of natural liberty can be accepted. But in society a man can be given freedom only to the extent that it does not encroach upon the freedom of others.
Moral Liberty
Moral liberty means that the man should be free from all temptations and he should be free to do what is morally good and desirable. It is concerned with the conscience of the man and he should be free to do what seems good to his conscience. When a man has to do something against the moral principles, against his conscience, against what appears to be good to him, he is not morally free and in this atmosphere he cannot realise fullest development of his life. It may be kept in mind that like natural liberty, moral liberty is also outside the purview of the state. It is neither prescribed by the state, nor is protected by the law and the law courts.
National Liberty
National liberty means liberty from foreign rule. When a nation is not under the control of another nation, when it can decide independently about its own governmental setup, it can make and unmake laws of its choice, when it can independently decide about the war and peace, it possesses national liberty. It is identical to sovereignty. It is more important than the liberty of individuals. It means a nation should be free from all outside interference and should be free to make efforts for its development. Without national liberty, no society can make its national development. A free nation can give rights and liberties to its citizens. Before 15th August, 1947, India did not possess national liberty.
Civil Liberty
Civil liberty means that liberty which is enjoyed by the member of an organised society, by exercising which he can have fullest development of his social life. It means those facilities which an individual enjoys in the society and because of which he can act independently without interference from others.
Man needs and exercises so many freedoms while living in the society. It is given to all the members of the society on equal basis. Rights like right to life, right to freedom of speech and expression, right to property, right to freedom of movement, right to family, right to form association, right to settle in any part of the state, right to work, right to freedom of religion, right to education are enjoyed by the people under civil liberty. Every state in a democratic setup tries to create and give maximum civil liberty to its members because this helps in the development of their life. An individual is able to lead a civilised life in society only if he enjoys civil liberty.
Economic Liberty
Economic liberty means liberty in the economic field. It means that liberty which helps the man to make his fullest economic development, which helps the man fulfil all his economic needs without any fear or pressure. Economic liberty means liberty from hunger and starvation, freedom from any type of fear while doing work, freedom from worries of bread and butter. Economic liberty does not mean that every man should be free to do what he likes in the economic field. It does not mean free trade and open competition. Economic liberty means that every individual should have guarantee of getting minimum standard of living.
Thus economic liberty means end of open competition, guarantee of minimum standard of living for every individual, guarantee of work, guarantee of minimum wages and maximum working house and provision of economic security, and minimum gap between the rich and the poor. It means a man may not have to do what he does not want to do for earning his livelihood.
Political Liberty
Political liberty means enjoyment of political rights and it is essential for the development of political life of the individual. It means the individual should be free to exercise his political rights independently. The individuals should have freedom to elect their representatives, to be elected to the representative assemblies, freedom to hold public offices and freedom to criticise the government fearlessly. Political liberty also means liberty to take active part in the administration of the state. It means the people should have power and freedom to choose their own government. Political liberty can be enjoyed by the people only in a democratic set up. A despotic state creates and gives civil and economic liberty but does not give political liberty to its citizens. Political liberty consists mainly of 1. the right to vote on universal adult franchise, 2. right to be elected, 3. right to hold public offices, 4. right to criticise the policies and programmes of the government.
Personal Liberty
Personal liberty means liberty in the personal life of the individual. It means the individual should have complete freedom in doing those things which are concerned with his own life and do not affect the other members of the society. J.S. Mill had divided the actions of the individuals into two categories—those which affected others also and those which did not affect others. The functions of the individual which did not affect the others should be left at the entire discretion of the individual and the state should not make laws about them and should not interfere in them. But in actual practice there is not even a single action of the individual which does not affect the others. However the state should interfere least in the personal life of the individual. The state should not interfere in matters like family life, marriage, religion, dress, meals etc. The state may make general rules regarding these matters but individual should be left free as far as possible in such matters.